By Jesse Wade on March 8, 2023 • Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending March 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 7.4% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose eight basis points to 6.79%. The FRM rate has risen 61 basis points over the past month. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 7.4% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity increased 7.0%, while refinancing activity increased 9.0% week-over-week. Purchasing activity has remained low as buyers wait for interest rates to fall back, the seasonally adjusted purchase index was 42.3% lower than a year ago when the FRM rate was 4.27%. Refinancing activity continues to remain low; the Refinancing Index is down 76.1% from one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased from 28.7% to 28.9% over the week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 8.6% from 8.1%. The average loan size for purchases was $425,700 for the first week of March, down from $430,500 over the month of February. The average loan size across purchases, ARM and FRM was down in the first week of March after two consecutive months of increases. For refinancing, average loan size has fallen to $264,500 from $345,800 in March of 2020. Related ‹ Single-Family Market Share Continues to Shift from Large Population CentersTags: finance, home purchases, housing finance, interest rates, mba, mortgage applications, mortgage bankers association, mortgage lending, refinancing

By Jesse Wade on February 8, 2023 • Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending February 3rd, total mortgage activity increased 7.4% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell one basis point to 6.18%. The FRM rate has fallen around 100 basis points since October of 2022. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 7.4% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity increased 3.1%, while refinancing activity increased 17.7% week-over-week. Purchasing activity has slightly increased as interest rates have fallen for 5 consecutive weeks, but it remains 32.7% lower than one year ago. Refinancing activity continues to remain at lower levels, the refinancing index is down 74.8% from one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased from 31.2% to 33.9% over the week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.6% from 6.7%. The average loan size for purchases was $428,500 for the first week of February, up from $405,500 over the month of January. The average loan size across all products has increased since December 2022. Many buyers remain priced out by the unaffordability of homes currently available. Related ‹ Age of Housing Stock by StateTags: finance, home purchases, housing finance, interest rates, mba, mortgage applications, mortgage bankers association, mortgage lending, refinancing

By Jesse Wade on January 11, 2023 • Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending January 6th, total mortgage activity increased 1.2% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate fell sixteen basis points to 6.42%. The FRM rate has remained near 6.4% over the past month. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity decreased 0.5%, while refinancing activity increased 5.1% week-over-week. Purchasing activity has reached its lowest level since the first week of January 2015 (159.2). While interest rates remain elevated, purchasing activity will likely remain low as buyers wait for rates to decrease further. Refinancing activity continues to see little activity as many homeowners refinanced when interest rates were significantly lower than today. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased from 30.3% to 30.7% over the week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained at 7.3%. The average loan size for purchases was $389,000 for the first week of January after peaking at $454,300 in March of 2022. The average loan size across FRMs, ARMs, purchases and refinances had steadily fallen as we approached the end of 2022. Related ‹ Revolving Debt Climbs as Credit Card Interest Rates Set New RecordsTags: finance, home purchases, housing finance, interest rates, mba, mortgage applications, mortgage bankers association, mortgage lending, refinancing