The volume of
mortgage applications for both home purchase and refinancing fell for the third
straight time during the week ended February 19. The Mortgage Bankers
Association (MBA) says its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume,
dropped 11.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. It was the largest single
week decline since the week ended April 3, 2020. On an unadjusted basis the index
was down 10.0 percent.
The Refinancing
Index decreased 11 percent from the previous week but was still 50 percent
higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage
activity decreased to 68.5 percent of total applications from 69.3 percent the
previous week.
The seasonally
adjusted Purchase Index dropped 12 percent and was 8 percent lower before adjustment.
Activity was 7 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
Refi Index vs 30yr Fixed
Purchase Index vs 30yr Fixed
“Mortgage
rates have increased in six of the last eight weeks, with the benchmark 30-year
fixed rate last week climbing above 3 percent to its highest level since
September 2020. As a result of these higher rates, overall refinance activity
fell 11 percent to its lowest level since December 2020, but remained 50
percent higher than a year ago,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President
of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Additionally, the severe winter weather
in Texas affected many households and lenders, causing more than a 40 percent
drop in both purchase and refinance applications in the state last week.”
Added
Kan, “The housing market in most of the country remains strong, with activity
last week 7 percent higher than a year ago. The average loan size of purchase
applications increased to a record $418,000, in line with the accelerating
home-price growth caused by very low inventory levels.”
The
FHA share of total applications jumped to 11.2 percent from 9.0 percent the previous
week while the VA share fell to 11.9 percent from 13.2 percent and the USDA
share dipped 0.1 point to 0.3. The balance of all loans was $344,800, up from
$338,200 and for purchase loans the balance grew from $412,200 to $418,000.
The average
contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) with balances at
or below the current conforming limit of $548,250 increased to 3.08 percent
from 2.98 percent, with points increasing to 0.46 from 0.43. The effective rate was 3.22 percent.
The
rate for jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, loans with balances greater than the
conforming limit, increased to 3.23 percent from 3.11 percent, with points increasing to 0.43 from
0.35. The effective rate was 3.35 percent.
Thirty-year
FRM backed by the FHA had an average rate of 3.00 percent with 0.33 point. The
prior week the rate was 2.93 percent with 0.27 point. The effective rate
increased to 3.10 percent. The rate for
15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased 9 basis points to 2.56 percent and
points grew to 0.40 from 0.36. The effective rate was 2.66 percent.
The
average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) was unchanged
at 2.83 percent, with points
decreasing to 0.36 from 0.70. The effective rate declined to 3.10 percent. The ARM share of applications increased from
2.4 to 2.7 percent.
MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications
Survey has been conducted since 1990 and covers over 75 percent of all U.S.
retail residential applications Respondents include mortgage bankers,
commercial banks, and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March
16, 1990=100 and interest rate information is based on loans with an 80 percent
loan-to-value ratio and points that include the origination fee.
MBA’s latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey found a 7-basis point
decline in the total number of loans in forbearance to 5.22 percent of all
first liens as of February 14, 2021. According to MBA’s estimate, 2.6 million homeowners
are in forbearance plans. Of those
loans, 15.9 percent are in the initial forbearance plan stage, while 81.6
percent are in a forbearance extension. The remaining 2.5 percent are re-entries
in the program.
The
share of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (GSE) loans in forbearance decreased to
2.97 percent –
a 4-basis-point improvement. Ginnie Mae (FHA and VA) loans in forbearance ticked
down 2 basis points to 7.32 percent, while the forbearance share for portfolio
loans and private-label securities (PLS) decreased by 20 basis points to 8.94
percent. The percentage of loans in forbearance serviced by independent
mortgage banks (IMB) fell 15 basis points to 5.54 percent, and the percentage
of forborne loans in depository servicers’ portfolios rose 2 basis points to
5.28 percent.
“The share of loans in forbearance has declined for
three weeks in a row, with portfolio and PLS loans decreasing the most this
week. This decline was due to a sharp increase in borrower exits, particularly
for IMB servicers,” said
Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist. “Requests for new
forbearances dropped to 6 basis points, matching a survey low.”
Fratantoni added, “The housing market is
quite strong, with home sales, home construction, and home price data all
testifying to this strength. Policymakers and the mortgage industry have helped
enable this during the pandemic by providing millions of homeowners support in
the form of forbearance. The decision to extend the allowable duration of
forbearance plans should provide for a smoother transition this year as the job
market continues to recover.”
MBA’s latest Forbearance and Call
Volume Survey covers the period from February 8 through February 14, 2021 and
represents 74 percent of the first-mortgage servicing market (37.1 million
loans).
Source: mortgagenewsdaily.com