More Americans were applying for mortgages last week, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The trade group’s Market Composite Index was up by 3.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, while the unadjusted index was up by 5%. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5% and the unadjusted index was 6% higher compared with the previous week – although it was also 28% lower than the same week one year ago.
The Refinance Index increased 2% from the previous week but was also 51% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 26.8% of total applications from 27.6% recorded in the previous week.
Among the federal loan programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 12.6% from 12.7% the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 11.2% from 11.7% and the USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5%.
“Although incoming data points to a slowdown in the U.S. economy, markets continue to expect that the Fed will raise short-term rates at its next meeting, which have pushed Treasury yields somewhat higher,” observed MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan. “As a result of the higher yields, mortgage rates increased for the second straight week to their highest level in over a month, with the 30-year fixed rate now at 6.55%.”
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