Mortgage application volume slipped 4.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 23, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
On an unadjusted basis, applications were off 4.6 percent as well, and down 7.5 percent compared to the same week a year ago.
The fall in application volume was led by an 8.9 percent drop in refinance activity and a 2.2 percent dip in FHA loans, although purchases inched up 0.1 percent from a week earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity stumbled again to just 46.1 percent of total applications, down from 48.2 percent the week prior.
Interest rates were no help either, as the standard 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed six basis points to 5.96 percent, while the 15-year averaged 5.49 percent, up from 5.42 percent.
Adjustable-rate mortgages performed even worse, with the average one-year increasing to 6.92 percent from 6.71 percent.
It’s no wonder the ARM share of applications fell to just 9.3 percent of total applications from 10 percent the week before.
The MBA’s weekly survey, compiled every week since 1990, covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.
It should be noted that the index only covers retail originations, which have clearly increased as a result of wholesale’s demise.
Additionally, the index doesn’t address the perceived surge in denied applications as tighter credit conditions and falling property values have surely made it more difficult to get approved.
(photo: gaetanlee)
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