The share of borrowers who were refinancing moved lower for the second week in a row, as did the average loan amount and overall new activity. A rise in interest rates drove the deterioration.
Mortgage originators priced 14 percent fewer loans based on the Mortech-Mortgage Daily Mortgage Market Index for the week ended Wednesday. The index fell for the second consecutive week to 250 from the previous week’s 291.
Also lower for the second week was the average U.S. loan amount, which fell to $208,274 from last week’s $209,960. The largest average was $268,784 in Washington, D.C., and Nebraska’s $140,723 was the lowest.
The refinance share additionally fell for the second consecutive week to 54 percent from 57 percent. This week’s proportion reflected a 39 percent rate-term share and a 15 percent cashout share.
Driving the market deterioration was an increase in mortgage rates.
The conventional 30-year moved to 4.478 percent from 4.412 percent, while the jumbo 30-year climbed to 5.320 percent from 5.280 percent — cutting the jumbo-conventional spread to 84 BPS from 87 BPS in the process. The fifteen-year climbed to 3.820 percent from 3.750 percent.
