Talking Points
- Mortgage applications continued to rise (though only slightly) in the last week, with refinance applications driving the increase again, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
- The MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measure of overall application volume, increased 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week ended June 9. On an unadjusted basis however, the Composite Index dipped 0.4 percent. The Refinance Index gained 2 percent from the week before, putting it at its highest level since last November.
- The share of applications that were for refinancing rose to 46.6 percent from 45.4 percent.
- Applications for purchase mortgages declined for the fifth time in the last six weeks. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was down 1 percent from the week ended June 9, and the non-adjusted index lost 1 percent although it was 9 percent higher than during the same week in 2016.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) remained unchanged at 4.13 percent. Points decreased to 0.34 from 0.35, pulling the effective rate lower.