For the fifth week in a row, fewer borrowers applied for a mortgage refinance. The latest retreat led a decline in overall home loan applications.
In the week that ended March 18, there were 3 percent fewer mortgage applications completed by prospective borrowers than one week earlier.
The volume of residential loan application activity was based on
the Market Composite Index The index is adjusted to reflect seasonal variations.
The index is part of the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association which reportedly covers three-quarter of all U.S. retail applications.
Without any seasonal adjustments, the index was still down 3 percent.
Applications for refinance transactions declined 5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Refinance applications have diminished each week since the week ended Feb. 12.
The most-recent week’s refinance share slipped to 53.9 percent from 55.0 percent in the week ended March 11.
A more modest drop was recorded for purchase financing applications: 1 percent.
Foregoing any seasonal adjustments, purchase applications were still down 1 percent but were up a quarter compared to the same week in 2015.
Applications for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration accounted for 11.8 percent of activity, more than the 11.7 percent FHA share in the previous report.
The share of activity that was for loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs widened to 12.6 percent from 12.3 percent.
Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 4.9 percent of the latest total, the same as in the last report.
MBA’s report indicated that interest rates on jumbo loans were 8 basis points lower than conforming rates. The jumbo conforming spread was unchanged from a week prior.
