As mortgage rates inched higher this week, new mortgage activity drifted lower — with jumbo business taking the biggest hit. But market signs indicate that rates could ease in the next report. Spreads improved for jumbo and shorter-term mortgages. Inquiries for government-insured loans fared the best.
A 7 percent decline in mortgage pricing inquiries from last week left the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortech Inc. and Mortgage Daily for the week ended Oct. 12 at 224. The index declined 12 percent from the same week during 2011.
Jumbo loans were disproportionately impacted, with inquiries dropping 9 percent from the week ended Oct. 5. The decline came despite that the premium for a jumbo mortgage fell to 71 basis point from last week’s 78-basis-point jumbo-conforming spread. Jumbo premiums were only 67 BPS this week last year. The share of overall activity represented by jumbo inquiries eased to 8.5 percent from 8.8 percent the prior week.
Conventional business declined 7 percent for the week and was 11 percent lower than in the week ended Oct. 14, 2011.
Also off 7 percent were inquiries for purchase financing. Compared to a year earlier, purchase inquiries have dropped 41 percent.
Inquiries for adjustable-rate mortgages moved 6 percent lower from last week and have plummeted 63 percent over the last year. ARM share inched up to 2.5 percent from 2.4 percent but was lower than 5.9 percent in the year-earlier period.
Borrowers looking to refinance their existing mortgages accounted for 76 percent of this week’s business, the same as last week but higher than the 65 percent refinance share this week last year. Refinance share broke out to a 63 percent rate-term share and a 14 percent cashout share.
Total refinance inquiries fell 6 percent from a week ago but rose 3 percent from a year ago.
The smallest week-over-week decline was with mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, with FHAÂ activity off 5 percent from last week. FHA inquiries have tumbled 20 percent from one year prior.
FHA share, meanwhile, inched up to 10.0 percent from 9.8 percent seven days earlier and was 10.9 percent 12 months earlier.
The average 30-year, fixed-rate, conforming rate was 3.507 percent, worse than 3.411 percent in the previous report. Thirty-year loans averaged 4.350 percent in the year-earlier report.
The rate discount for 15-year mortgages improved to 66 BPS this week from 62 BPS last week. A year ago, the spread was 65 BPS.
Next week’s report could reflect rates that are slightly lower based on an analysis of recent Treasury market activity.
Data from the Department of the Treasury indicates that the yield on the 10-year Treasury note averaged 1.73 percent during the week encompassed by the latest Mortgage Market Index report, while the 10-year yield closed Friday at 1.69 percent.
