The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) noted a slight decrease in mortgage applications during the week ended April 28. Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, said the 1.2 percent decrease in MBA’s seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index and the 0.4 percent dip in the index before adjustment came despite interest rates that moved lower for the first time in three weeks. “The 30-year fixed-rate decreased five basis points to 6.5 percent, which is still 114 basis points higher than a year ago,” Kan said. “Elevated rates continue to both impact homebuyer affordability and weaken demand for refinancing. Home purchase activity has been very sensitive to rates and local market trends, including the very low supply of existing-home inventory. However, newly constructed homes account for a growing share of inventory, giving more options for prospective buyers.” The Refinance Index rose 1 percent compared to the prior week but remained 51 percent below the level during the same week in 2022. The refinance share of mortgage activity continued to fall, representing 27.2 percent of total applications, down from 26.8 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index lost 1 percent and was 32 percent lower than the same week in 2022. [purchaseappschart] Kan continued, “ The jumbo-conforming spread continues to narrow, an indication that there is reduced lender appetite for jumbo loans following the recent turmoil in the banking sector and heightened concerns about liquidity. The spread was 13 basis points last week, after being as wide as 64 basis points in November 2022.”
Related Articles
Mortgage rates climb as Fed signals more aggressive rate hikes
March 9, 2023
Mark Paul Cervantes
Housing Wire
Comments Off on Mortgage rates climb as Fed signals more aggressive rate hikes
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell sent a clear message during his U.S. Senate speech on Tuesday morning: Fed officials are likely to deliver higher rate hikes than previously expected to combat persistent inflation. “As I […]
Housebuilding falls sharply as mortgage rates rise
July 6, 2023
Mark Paul Cervantes
International, Mortage News, Top News
Comments Off on Housebuilding falls sharply as mortgage rates rise
UK housebuilding has fallen at the steepest rate in more than a decade – outside of the pandemic years – as high borrowing costs impact demand, according to a closely watched survey. The June downturn […]
Production Profits Plummet for Independent Mortgage Banks
April 6, 2023
Mark Paul Cervantes
Weely Real Estate News
Comments Off on Production Profits Plummet for Independent Mortgage Banks
“For the first time since the inception of MBA’s report in 2008, net production income was in the red in 2022, with losses averaging 13 basis points,” said MBA’s Marina Walsh. The post Production Profits […]