Mortgage application activity slowed down for the week ending Oct. 11, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 17% on both a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis from one week earlier. Both the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index and the unadjusted index were down 7% week-over-week, although the latter was also 7% higher than the same week one year ago.
The Refinance Index decreased 26% from the previous week, but it was also 111% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 46.5% of total applications from 52.4% the previous week.
Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 15.9% from 16.2% the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 16.2% from 16.9% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4%.
The MBA also noted that its Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI) dropped by 0.5% to 98.5 in September; the index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012. The Conventional MCAI decreased 1.7% while the Government MCAI increased by 0.8%. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI decreased by 2.6% and the Conforming MCAI remained unchanged.
“Mortgage credit availability tightened slightly in September as lenders remained cautious in this uncertain economic environment,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. “There was a decline in loan programs for cash-out refinances, jumbo and non-QM loans, including loans that require less than full documentation. Most component indexes decreased over the month, but the government index increased, driven by more offerings of VA streamline refinances.”
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