New mortgage activity rebounded from the holiday week, and it was jumbo business that was out front of the gain.
As of the week ended Jan. 8, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from OpenClose and Mortgage Daily was 110.
The index, a representation of average per-user rate locks by OpenClose clients, climbed 28 percent from a week earlier.
Compared to a year earlier, however, the index has retreated 54 percent. The figures from a year ago were revised to reflect statistics from the same data provider.
The improvement from the New Year’s holiday week was led by jumbo business, with the Jumbo MMI ascending 57 percent from the week ended Jan. 1. Jumbo business has diminished, though, by 65 percent from the same week in 2015.
Interest rates on jumbo mortgages were 17 basis points less than on conforming loans. The jumbo-conforming spread was more narrow than a negative 19 BPS in the last report and swung from a positive
12 BPS in the year-earlier report.
A more than 30 percent week-over-week gain was recorded for refinances, though the category slowed by half compared to the week ended Jan. 9, 2015.
Refinance share widened to 71.0 percent from 69.7 percent and was also wider than 65.6 percent twelve months prior. The latest share consisted of a 44.1 percent rate-term share and a 26.9 percent cashout share.
Rate locks for conventional mortgages increased nearly 30 percent from the previous report but slid 60 percent from the year-previous report.
Purchase financing activity rose 28 percent from a week earlier but dropped 38 percent from a year earlier.
Rate locks for loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration were up 21 percent from the report seven days prior but down six percent from the report 12 months prior. FHA share thinned to 23.7 percent from 25.0 percent but was far fatter than 11.7 percent one year ago.
Adjustable-rate mortgages were the only category to see a week-over-week decline: 22 percent. On a year-over-year basis, the ARM business decline exceeded a third.
ARM share was slashed to 13.0 percent from 21.3 percent in the last report. But ARM share widened from 9.1 percent in the year-earlier report.
On 30-year conforming loans, fixed rates averaged 3.97 percent, falling four BPS from a week prior and 14 BPS better than a year prior.
Borrowers on 15-year mortgages locked in rates that were an average of 71 BPS better than 30-year rates. The spread tumbled from 77 BPS the previous week and 83 BPS in the year-previous week.
Mortgage Daily’s analysis of Treasury market activity suggests that fixed mortgage rates could be around five BPS better in the next Mortgage Market Index report.
