Inman

Demand for purchase loans eases

Applications for mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent for the week ending Oct. 9, due largely to a 5 percent drop in demand for purchase loans from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing the results of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Looking back a year, applications for purchase loans were down 6.8 percent. Applications for refinancings were essentially flat from the previous week, declining by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent, the MBA said. Refinancings accounted for 67.4 percent of all mortgage applications, up from 66.3 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.02 percent from 4.89 percent, with points decreasing to 1.11 from 1.13 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.44 percent from 4.32 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 1.04 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.71 percent from 6.56 percent, with points increasing to 0.32 from 0.3 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

***

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