If you thought last year’s mortgage activity was coming to a grinding halt, don’t read this.
Home loan application volume fell a whopping 20.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending October 31 compared to one week earlier, according to the latest survey from the MBA.
On an unadjusted basis, the index was down 21.1 percent compared to the prior week, and off a staggering 43.4 percent compared to the same period a year ago.
The plunge was led by a 27.8 percent decrease in refinance applications, a 13.9 percent fall in purchase activity, and a 12.8 percent drop in FHA lending.
The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 42.9 percent of total application volume, down from 46.9 percent a week earlier, as interest rates climbed higher.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 6.47 percent, up from 6.26 percent one week prior, while the 15-year fixed jumped 13 basis points to 6.14 percent.
The average one-year adjustable-rate mortgage decreased four basis points to 6.86 percent, which may explain why the ARM share of activity increased to 2.5 percent from 1.9 percent of total application volume.
The weekly survey, which covers roughly half of all retail residential mortgage applications, has been conducted since 1990.
Assuming the retail share of the market has increased as a result of wholesale’s big exit, these numbers are even more disappointing.
(photo: photomonkey)
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