Mortgage application volume jumped 5.5% on an adjusted basis last week as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 5.16% to 5.12%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances increased 1% while applications for purchases increased 9%.
The results include an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The increase follows four consecutive weeks of decreases.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume fell 29% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases decreased 28% on an unadjusted basis but were 2% higher compared with the same week one year earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.9% of total applications.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 7.9% of total applications.
Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA, says the increase was in part due to the drop in rates.
“After several weeks of market volatility, 30-year fixed mortgage rates decreased four basis points to 5.12 percent last week,” Fratantoni says in a statement. “Homebuyers responded, with purchase applications 1.7 percent higher than a year ago, and after adjusting for the Thanksgiving holiday, they increased almost nine percent from the previous week.”
“The rise in purchase activity was led by conventional purchase applications, which surged almost 12 percent, while government purchases were essentially unchanged over the week,” Fratantoni says. “This also pushed the average loan size for purchase applications higher, which likely meant there were fewer first-time homebuyers in the market last week.” “Refinance activity increased slightly overall, driven by conventional refinances, while government refinances decreased, as both FHA and VA applications dropped over the past week,” he adds. The average rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage remained unchanged at 4.53%.
The average rate for a 5/1 ARM was 4.29%, up from 4.24%.
