The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reports a slight increase in the volume of mortgage applications during the week ended July 7. MBA’s seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index increased 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier , although it took an additional adjustment accounting for the Independence Day holiday to push it into positive territory. On an unadjusted basis, the Index dropped 19 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 1.0 percent from the previous week and was 39 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 26.8 percent of total applications from 27.4 percent. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2.0 percent from one week earlier but was down 19 percent before adjustment. Purchase applications were 26 percent below their level the same week in 2022. [purchaseappschart] “Incoming economic data continue to send mixed signals about the economy, said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “The overall impact [left] Treasury yields higher last week as markets expect that the Federal Reserve will need to hold rates higher for longer to slow inflation. All mortgage rates in our survey followed suit, with the 30-year fixed rate increasing to 7.07 percent, the highest level since November 2022. The jumbo rate also increased to 7.04 percent, a record high for the jumbo series, which dates back to 2011.”
