Mortgage application volume jumped 4.4% during the week ended May 19, with most of the increase stemming from an 11% week-over-week spike in applications for refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
It was the most applications for refinances in a single week since March. Applications for purchases decreased 1% compared with the previous week.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume increased 3% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases decreased 2% compared with the previous week but increased 3% compared with the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.9% of total applications – up from 41.1% the previous week.
The increase in applications for refinances was partly due to the fact that mortgage rates ticked back down again slightly.
The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.17%, down from 4.23%, according to the survey, which covers about 75% of the U.S. mortgage market.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.2% of total applications.
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