Talking Points

  • Total mortgage application volume fell 0.4 percent for the week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted report. Volume was 6 percent lower than a year ago.
  • Refinancing applications fell 1 percent for the week and were 18 percent lower than a year ago, when interest rates were considerably lower.
  • The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($453,100 or less) decreased to 4.78 percent from 4.80 percent, with points decreasing to 0.50 from 0.53 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.