Mortgage Bankers Association Sees Decrease in Loan Applications

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The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 12 shows mortgage applications decreased 2.3% from one week earlier.

The Refinance Index decreased 5% from the previous week and was 82% lower than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage application activity was lower last week, with overall applications declining over two percent to their lowest level since 2000. Home purchase applications continued to be held down by rapidly drying up demand, as high mortgage rates, challenging affordability, and a gloomier outlook of the economy kept buyers on the sidelines,” comments Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting.

“However, if home price growth slows more significantly and mortgage rates move lower, we might see some purchase activity return later in the year,” continues Kan. “The 30-year fixed rate stayed more than two percentage points higher than a year ago at 5.45 percent but was down over 50 basis points from the June 2020 high of 5.98 percent, providing some relief for buyers in the market. The refinance index, however, fell five percent to its lowest level since November 2000, driven by a six percent drop in conventional refinance applications.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 31.2% of total applications from 32% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7% of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 12% from 12.1% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.2% from 10.9% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.6% the week prior.

Image: Jacques Bopp on Unsplash

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