It’s been almost eight years since the share of refinance applications was as low as it was last week. Overall activity fell.
In the week that concluded on Feb. 10, the Market Composite Index moved lower by a seasonally adjusted 4 percent.
The index, which is a
measure of residential loan application volume, was off just a percent without any seasonal adjustments.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the index in its
Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey based on its survey of reportedly more than 75 percent of all retail mortgage applications.
MBA said refinance applications declined 3 percent from the week ended Feb. 3.
Meanwhile, refinance share was 46.9 percent — the most narrow share since June 2009. Refinance share was 47.9 percent a week earlier and 64.3 percent a year earlier.
Applications for loans to finance a home purchase fell 5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Foregoing seasonal factors, purchase-money activity inched up a percent from the previous report and 3 percent from the week ended Feb. 12, 2016.
At 11.9 percent, the share of applications that were for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration was no different than a week prior. FHA share was wider, though, than 11.5 percent the same week in 2016.
But the share of applications for loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs thinned to 11.8 percent from 12.7 percent and was slightly wider than 11.7 percent twelve months earlier.
The jumbo-conforming spread was cut to a negative 4 basis points from a negative 8 BPS the previous week
and a negative 9 BPS the same week in the previous year.
MBA said 7.5 percent of all applications were for adjustable-rate mortgages. ARM share widened from 6.9 percent in the last report and 6.7 percent in the same week last year.
