Mortgage Applications Decrease in March 16th MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications decreased 1.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 11, 2022.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week and was 49 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 8 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

“Mortgage rates continue to be volatile due to the significant uncertainty regarding Federal Reserve policy and the situation in Ukraine. Investors are weighing the impacts of rapidly increasing inflation in the U.S. and many other parts of the world against the potential for a slowdown in economic growth due to a renewed bout of supply-chain constraints,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “After declining two weeks ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased last week to 4.27 percent – the highest since May 2019. Rates are now roughly a full percentage point higher than a year ago and continue to hamper refinance activity. Refinances declined for both conventional and government loans.”

Added Kan, “Purchase applications slightly increased, with both conventional and VA loan applications seeing gains. The average purchase application loan size remained elevated at $453,200 – the second-highest amount in MBA’s survey.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 48.4 percent of total applications from 49.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.6 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications remained unchanged at 8.7 percent from the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.5 percent from 10.4 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.5 percent from the week prior.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 4.27 percent from 4.09 percent, with points increasing to 0.54 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $647,200) increased to 4.02 percent from 3.79 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 4.23 percent from 4.12 percent, with points decreasing to 0.62 from 0.73 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.   The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.55 percent from 3.39 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.46 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.36 percent from 3.38 percent, with points decreasing to 0.23 from 0.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.

Contact:

Adam DeSanctis – Media Contact – adesanctis@mba.org – (202) 557-2727

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association