Mortgage Applications rise 0.6% from last week; Refinance applications dips 1% from last week.

Mortgage applications increased 0.6 percent from last week and is a 13 percent higher than what it was the same week a year ago. Apparently mortgage interest rates are not scaring potential homebuyers. Though home sales are slowing down, the reason why we see an increase in mortgage applications activity is because there are more mortgage dependent buyers in the market today.

Refinance applications fell 1 percent from the previous week as they are more interest rate sensitive. The interest rates are at 22.4 percent, slightly lower than what it was the same week, a year ago. The refinance side of mortgage activity decreased to 61.5 percent of total applications from 62.4 percent from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to its highest level since June, to 3.73 percent, from 3.68 percent, with points increasing to 0.36 from 0.35 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans. 

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to its highest level since June 2016, 3.72 percent, from 3.67 percent, with points increasing to 0.29 from 0.24 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 3.54 percent, with points increasing to 0.30 from 0.23 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to its highest level since June 2016, 3.03 percent, from 2.97 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

Even though it is tempting to conclude that the recent trend to higher rates is over, it still very premature to come to that conclusion because of the political uncertainty domestically and due to the state of flux in the international market.

To read more Click Here.