Mortgage application activity was a mixed bag for the week ending Aug. 22, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, dipped by 0.5% percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index was down by 2% from the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was up by 2% from one week earlier, but the unadjusted index was down by a scant 0.1% – the latter was also 25% higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index decreased 4% from the previous week and was 19% higher than the same week one year ago, while the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 45.3% of total applications from 46.1% the previous week.
Among the government programs, the FHA share of total applications remained unchanged at 19.1% from the week prior while the VA share of total applications dipped to 13.3% from 13.4% and the USDA share of total applications dipped to 0.5% from 0.6%.
Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “Purchase applications had their strongest week in over a month, up 2%, and the average loan size increased to its highest level in two months at $433,400. Prospective buyers appear to be less sensitive to rates at these levels and are more active, bolstered by more inventory and cooling home-price growth in many parts of the country.”
