Increased mortgage application activity reached a new record this week, increasing 16.8% from one week earlier, when it hit its highest volume since January with a 6.9% increase, according to the latest Weekly Applications Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) for the week ending August 9, 2024. The Refinance Index increased 35% from the previous week and was 118% higher than the same week one year ago, according to this week’s data.
More data from this week’s report:
- The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 16.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
- On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 15% compared with the previous week.
- The Refinance Index increased 35% from the previous week and was 118% higher than the same week one year ago.
- The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3% from one week earlier.
- The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2% compared with the previous week and was 8% lower than the same week one year ago.
- The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 48.6% of total applications from 41.7% the previous week.
- The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7.3% of total applications.
- The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.5% from 13.4% the week prior.
- The VA share of total applications increased to 16.8% from 14.3% the week prior.
- The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.3% from 0.4% the week prior.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.54% from 6.55%, with points decreasing to 0.57 from 0.58 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $766,550) increased to 6.78% from 6.77%, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 6.49%, with points decreasing to 0.77 from 0.79 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.96% from 6.03%, with points decreasing to 0.65 from 0.74 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 6.04% from 5.91%, with points increasing to 0.87 from 0.72 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
MBA’s analysis:
“Rates on both 30- and 15-year fixed rate mortgages decreased for the second consecutive week, and combined with the previous week’s rate moves, spurred another strong week for application activity as borrowers with higher rates took the opportunity to refinance,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Overall applications increased almost 17% to the highest level since January 2023, driven by a 35% increase in refinance applications. The refinance index also saw its strongest week since May 2022 and was 117% higher than a year ago, driven by gains in conventional, FHA, and VA applications. Additionally, purchase applications increased by 3%, with small gains seen across the various loan types, indicating that prospective homebuyers are slowly reentering the market.”
