Home loan application volume was up 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 11, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
On an unadjusted basis, the index was up 27 percent compared with the previous week, though that was a holiday shortened period.
Compared with the same week a year earlier, mortgage application volume was down a hefty 17.4 percent.
That’s certainly not good news, considering volume was already quite soft a year ago as the mortgage crisis began to intensify.
During the week, refinance apps climbed 6.9 percent while FHA loans, which had been one of the few bright spots in recent months, slipped 8.2 percent.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 39.2 percent of total apps, up from 37.3 percent the previous week as interest rates saw marked improvement.
The traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.22 percent during the week, down from 6.43 percent a week earlier while the 15-year fixed shed 20 basis points to average 5.74 percent.
The average five-year adjustable-rate mortgage improved as well, falling eight basis points to 7.16 percent, but the share of ARMs decreased to just 9.1 percent of total mortgage activity, down from 10 percent.
The MBA’s weekly survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers roughly half of all retail loan originations.
(photo: shereen84)
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