New applications for residential loans moved higher last week, and purchase financing was out front of the weekly gain.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Market Composite Index rose six percent in the week ended Nov. 13 from a week prior.
The index
—
a measure of home loan application volume — was down six percent, however, with no seasonal adjustments.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported the index in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
A 12 percent bump was reported by MBA for purchase applications, though purchase activity slipped three percent without factoring in seasonality. It was the second week in a row that purchase applications were stronger.
Compared to a year earlier, purchase business has risen 19 percent on an unadjusted basis.
At $301,200, the average loan size for purchase applications reached “a survey high.”
The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index inched up two percent from the week ended Nov. 6 despite a decline in refinance share to 58.6 percent from 59.8 percent.
The trade group said that 6.3 percent of the latest week’s applications were for adjustable-rate mortgages,
thinning from 6.6 percent ARM share in the previous report.
Applications for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration represented 14.4 percent of the most-recent activity. FHA share widened from 14.1 percent a week earlier.
Also increasing was the share of applications for loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs — to 11.7 percent from 10.9 percent.
The jumbo-conforming spread was a negative
13 basis points, far wider than in the report seven days prior when jumbo rates were eight BPS less than conforming rates.
