Interest rates on residential loans migrated solidly north this past week, driving down demand for home-loan refinances as well as for overall new mortgage activity.
In the week ended May 27,
the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from
Mortgage Daily, a reflection of average per-user rate locks by clients of OpenClose, was 172.
Residential loan activity receded by 4 percent compared to one week earlier. But compared to one year earlier, average rate-lock volume has ascended 35 percent.
Figures from the report for 12 months ago were revised to reflect statistics from the same data provider.
An 11 percent decline from the week ended May 20 was recorded for refinance activity — the biggest drop for any category. But refinance rate locks were up 57 percent from the same week last year.
Refinance share was cut to 63.1 percent from 67.8 percent but widened from 54.4 percent 12 months ago. This week’s refinance share consisted of a 38.3 percent rate-term share and a 24.8 percent cashout share.
Rate locks for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration descended 10 percent for the week but have soared 72 percent from the week ended May 29, 2015 — the largest year-over-year gain of any category.
FHA share fell to 24.8 percent from 26.5 percent but has widened from 19.5 percent in the year-prior report.
Up next were rate locks for conventional mortgages, which slowed by 2 percent from the last report but increased by more than a quarter from the year-earlier report.
After that was jumbo business, which dipped 1 percent and was
down 27 percent from the same week in 2015 — the only year-over-year decline of any category.
Jumbo share widened to 6.6 percent from 6.4 percent but has been nearly cut in half compared to 12.2 percent 12 months previous.
Jumbo rates were 11 basis points more than conforming rates. The jumbo-conforming spread deepened from 9 BPS a week ago but was cut from 18 BPS a year previous.
A less than 1 percent decline from the last report was recorded for purchase financing activity, though the category strengthened by 44 percent from a year ago.
The only week-over-week increase was for adjustable-rate mortgage rate locks, which were up by a fifth. ARM business has risen by 70 percent on a year-over-year basis.
ARM share was 11.5 percent, wider than 9.2 percent a week earlier and 9.1 percent a year earlier.
Thirty-year fixed rates averaged 3.64 percent, climbing from 3.58 percent in the last report but declining from 4.19 percent a year prior.
Fifteen-year rates were 75 BPS less than 30-year rates. The spread was reduced from 77 BPS seven days previous and 87 BPS one year previous.
There is likely to be little change in fixed rates in next week’s report based on a Mortgage Daily analysis of Treasury market activity.
