Let the spring home shopping season commence!
After jumping an impressive 9.6% the previous week, mortgage application volume increased 4.6% on an adjusted basis during the week ended March 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
On an unadjusted basis, application volume increased 5% compared with the previous week.
Applications for refinances increased 4%, while applications for purchases increased 6%.
On an unadjusted basis, applications for purchases increased 6% compared with the previous week and were up 8% compared to the same week one year ago.
‘There was a broad-based increase in mortgage applications last week relative to the week prior,’ says Lynn Fisher, vice president of research and economics for the MBA, in a release. ‘The increase in purchase volume was led by a nearly six percent increase in both conventional and government markets, perhaps signaling that households are finally ready to begin the home-buying season.’
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 60% of total applications, down from 61% the previous week.
Mortgage rates more or less held steady: The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) with conforming loan balance ($417,000 or less) was 3.89%, down slightly from 3.90% the week prior.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM with jumbo loan balance (greater than $417,000) was 3.90%, up slightly from 3.89% the previous week.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was 3.73%, up from 3.71%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.21%, down slightly from 3.22%.
The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.93%, down from 2.97%.
The ARM share of activity decreased to 5.6% of total applications.
Looking at volume by loan type, applications for mortgages backed by the FHA represented 12.8% of all applications, down from 13.3% the previous week. Applications for Veterans Affairs mortgages represented 10.5% of all loans, up from 10.1% the previous week. Applications for mortgages through the U.S. Department of Agriculture were unchanged at 0.8%.
All rates are based on closings. The survey covers over 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.