Mortgage application volume increased 2.0% on an adjusted basis during the week ended November 30, as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 5.08%, down from 5.12%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
The previous week included an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Applications for refinances increased 6% while applications for purchases increased 1%, according to the survey, which covers about 75% of the residential mortgage market.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume increased 42% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases increased 36%, on an unadjusted basis, and were up 0.2% compared with the same week one year earlier.
“Treasury rates continued to slide last week, driven mainly by concerns over slowing global economic growth and U.S. and China trade uncertainty,” says Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting for the MBA, in a statement. “The 30-year fixed-rate fell for the third week in a row to 5.08 percent and has declined a total of nine basis points over this span.”
Kan adds that there was a “decrease in the average loan size for purchase applications to the lowest amount since December 2017 – $298,000 from $313,000.”
“This is perhaps an indication that there are fewer jumbo borrowers, or maybe first-time buyers are having better success reaching the market as we close out the year,” he says.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 40.4% of total applications, up from 37.9% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.4% of total applications.
The average rate for a 5/1 ARM was 4.33%, up from 4.29%.
