Another week, another huge gain for mortgage applications as mortgage rates fall into record territory.
Home loan apps were up 16.4 percent on both a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis (it happens sometimes) for the week ending October 2, compared with one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
It’s unclear how they compare to a year earlier, since the MBA left that out of their release (maybe they’re too busy originating loans).
The refinance index jumped 18.2 percent to its highest level since mid-May, following an incidental decline a week earlier, while purchases increased 13.2 percent.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index is now at its highest level since January, perhaps as prospective homeowners rush to take advantage of the homebuyer tax credit.
However, the unadjusted purchase index was down 2.2 percent compared with the same week a year ago.
Meanwhile, the government purchase index (largely FHA loans) climbed 14.4 percent week-to-week into record territory.
The refinance share of mortgage activity climbed to 66.3 percent of total applications from 65.3 percent the previous week as mortgage rates continued to fall.
The 30-year fixed fell to 4.89 percent from 4.94 percent, the lowest point since May 2009 when it was 4.81 percent.
The 15-year fixed slipped to 4.32 percent from 4.34 percent, the lowest point ever recorded in the survey, which goes back to 1990.
Finally, the out-of-favor, out-of-luck one-year ARM increased to 6.56 percent from 6.40 percent, which may explain why the adjustable-rate mortgage share slipped to 6.1 percent of total applications.
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