After falling a whopping 9.4% during the week of Thanksgiving, due, in part, to rising mortgage interest rates, mortgage application volume decreased 0.7% on an adjusted basis during the week ended Dec. 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances decreased 1.0%, while applications for purchases increased 0.4%.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume increased 39% compared with the previous week – but that’s mainly due to the Thanksgiving holiday, which is not a time when most people are home shopping. Applications for purchases increased 36% on an unadjusted basis and increased 3% compared with the same week one year earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 56.2% of total applications from 55.1% the previous week.
Mortgage rates continued to increase last week, with the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rising to 4.27% from 4.23%. That’s the highest it has been since October 2014.
The average rate for a jumbo FRM was 4.22%, up from 4.18%.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) remained unchanged at 4.00%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.53%, up from 3.48%.
The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 3.39%, up from 3.23%.
All rates are based on closings.
The ARM share of activity increased to 6.0% of total applications – the highest level since February.
Looking at the government loans, applications for mortgages backed by the FHA represented about 11.3% of all applications – up from 10.4% the week prior. The Veterans Affairs share of total applications was 12.6%, up from 11.7%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture share of total applications was 0.9%, up from 0.8%.