Mortgage application activity slowed again for week ending Oct. 10, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index was down by 2%.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index dropped by 3% while the unadjusted index took a 2% dip – the latter was also 20% higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index decreased 1% from the previous week and was 59% higher than the same week one year ago, while the refinance share of mortgage activity inched up to 53.6% of total applications from 53.3% in the previous week.
Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 20.5% from 18.5% the week prior while the VA share of total applications dropped to 14.9% from 16.3% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4%.
Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, observed, “FHA applications saw a stronger week, and FHA refinance applications in particular increased 12% as the FHA rate stayed more than 10 basis points lower than the conventional fixed rate. Purchase applications declined for the third consecutive week but remained 20% ahead of last year’s pace as improving inventory conditions in certain markets continue to maintain homebuyer interest.”
