Mortgage application volume got a bit of a boost as mortgage rates plummeted, according to the latest survey from the MBA.
The group’s mortgage application index increased 4.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis (4.1 percent unadjusted) for the week ending July 31, and was up 18 percent compared with the same week a year ago.
The refinance index jumped 7.2 percent from the previous week, and is up roughly 35 percent from its low back at the end of June.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased just 0.9 percent, and has shown little movement over the past month, despite it being home-buying season.
The refinance share of mortgage activity edged up to 54.2 percent of total applications, up from 52.6 percent the previous week.
Meanwhile, interest rates on fixed mortgages got some much needed relief, with the 30-year averaging 5.17 percent, down from 5.36 percent a week earlier.
The 15-year slipped to 4.60 percent from 4.75 percent, while the one-year ARM bucked the trend by increasing a single basis point to 6.67 percent.
That pushed the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity to 5.4 percent of total applications from 5.5 percent a week earlier.
The MBA’s weekly survey, conducted since 1990, covers roughly half of retail residential loan applications.
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