U.S. Mortgage Applications Increase in Mid-April

---

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 17, 2015, mortgage applications increased 2.3 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index increased 1 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5 percent from one week earlier to its highest level since June 2013. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 16 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

"Purchase applications increased for the fourth time in five weeks as we proceed further into the spring home buying season. Despite mortgage rates below four percent, refinance activity increased less than one percent from the previous week," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's Chief Economist.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 56 percent of total applications, its lowest level since October 2014, from 58 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.5 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.6 percent from 13.5 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 11.0 percent from 11.1 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.8 percent from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.83 percent, its lowest level since January 2015, from 3.87 percent, with points decreasing to 0.32 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) decreased to 3.83 percent from 3.84 percent, with points decreasing to 0.22 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.65 percent, its lowest level since May 2013, from 3.67 percent, with points decreasing to 0.12 from 0.23 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.11 percent, its lowest level since January 2015, from 3.16 percent, with points decreasing to 0.24 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.89 percent from 2.82 percent, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.