Mortgage Applications Dip in Early February

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 8, 2019, U.S. mortgage applications decreased 3.7 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 0.1 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent compared with the previous week and was 5 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

"Application activity fell last week - even with rates decreasing - as renewed uncertainty about the domestic and global economy likely held potential homebuyers off the market," said Joel Kan, MBA's Associate Vice President of Industry Surveys and Forecasts. "Despite the recent decline in applications, we still expect that the continued strength of the job market and lower rates will support more purchase activity in the coming months."

Added Kan, "The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to its lowest level since last March, and was 52 basis points lower than its recent high last November. Government refinances provided a bright spark, picking up over 10 percent, as both FHA and VA refinancing activity saw increases over the week."

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.2 percent of total applications from 41.6 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.5 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications increased to 11.0 percent from 10.5 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.0 percent from 10.0 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications increased to 0.6 percent from 0.5 percent the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($484,350 or less) decreased to 4.65 percent from 4.69 percent, with points decreasing to 0.43 from 0.45 (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 $484,350) decreased to 4.48 percent from 4.50 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.28 (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 4.61 percent from 4.70 percent, with points decreasing to 0.53 from 0.57 (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 4.04 percent from 4.11 percent, with points increasing to 0.48 from 0.47 (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 decreased to 3.97 percent from 4.04 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.