Mortgage application volume fell 0.1% on an adjusted basis during the week ended April 28, as a dip in applications for refinances offset a healthy increase in applications for purchases, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
When mortgage rates started dipping down about two weeks ago, the result was a brief spike in refinances. This past week, however, rates began to rise again, causing applications for refinances to fall back to their previous levels.
As a result, applications for refinances decreased 5% from the previous week, while applications for purchases increased 4%.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume increased 1% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases increased 5% compared with the previous week and increased 5% compared with the same week one year earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 41.6% of total applications – down from 44.0% the previous week.
The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.23%, up from 4.20%, according to the survey, which covers about 75% of the total U.S. mortgage market.
The average rate for a 30-year jumbo FRM was 4.18%, up from 4.15%.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM backed by the Federal Housing Administration was 4.06%, up from 4.03%, with points decreasing to 0.24 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.51%, up from 3.46%.
The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.29%, up from 3.22%.
The ARM share of activity decreased to 8.4% of total applications.