Home loan apps on the rise

Mortgage applications jumped 16.8 percent during the week ending Oct. 24 from the previous week, but applications were down 30 percent from a year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed applications for refinance loans up 28.5 percent from a week ago, while applications for purchase loans rose a more modest 8.5 percent. Applications for government-backed purchase loans, largely FHA, were up by 10.1 percent, compared with a 7.9 percent increase in applications for conventional purchase loans.

Applications for refinancings accounted for 46.9 percent of total applications, up from 42.6 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of total applications decreased to 1.9 percent, down from 2.7 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.26 percent from 6.28 percent, with points including the origination fee increasing to 1.1 from 1.09 for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.01 percent from 6.05 percent, with points increasing to 1.15 from 1.11 for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.9 percent from 6.97 percent, with points decreasing to 0.21 from 0.4 for 80 percent LTV loans.

***

What's your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.

All rights reserved. This content may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, in part or in whole, without written permission of Inman News. Use of this content without permission is a violation of federal copyright law.