Mortgage applications increased 11.0 percent from
one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly
Applications Survey for the week ending September 20, 2024.The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 11.0 percent on
a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 11
percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 20 percent from the previous
week and was 175 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase
Index increased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 0.4 percent
compared with the previous week and was 2 percent higher than the same week one year ago.“Mortgage applications increased to their highest level since July 2022, boosted by a 20 percent increase
in refinance applications after a large increase the prior week. The 30-year fixed rate decreased for the
eighth straight week to 6.13 percent, while the FHA rate decreased to 5.99 percent, breaking the
psychologically important 6 percent level,” Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
“As a result of lower rates, week-over-week gains for both conventional and government refinance
applications increased sharply. The refinance share of applications is now at 55.7 percent, and while the
level of refinance activity is still modest compared to prior refi waves, they now account for the majority of
applications, given the seasonal slowdown in purchase activity.”Added Kan, “Average loan sizes were higher both for purchase and refinance applications, which pushed
the overall average loan size to its highest in the survey’s history at $413,100.”
…
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances
($766,550 or less) decreased to 6.13 percent from 6.15 percent, with points increasing to 0.57 from 0.56
(including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added
Click on graph for larger image.
The first graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.
According to the MBA, purchase activity is up 2.0% year-over-year unadjusted.
