Mortgage applications

While the purchase index registered a tiny uptick, activity has fallen to nearly the same level seen during the first months of the pandemic shutdown.

A sustained downturn in 2022 activity has also led the Mortgage Bankers Association to revise its originations forecast for the year.

A 5% surge in purchase applications drove up overall activity, while average loan amounts also increased across all categories.

While longtime non-QM companies have originated mortgages in the segment for years, new contenders have come into the market as the number of potential customers who fit into the category grows.

Purchase numbers came in higher for both conventional and government activity, while the average loan amount shows signs of easing.

Surging interest rates have pushed refinance applications down by over 70% in a year, while ARMs have doubled their share in three months.

Meanwhile, adjustable-rate mortgages saw their largest volume share since 2019.

Refinances now also make up less than 40% of new applications, with numbers at their lowest since 2019, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

But the sluggish pace of refinances brought down overall application numbers last week.

Refinance applications came in 54% lower than a year ago, but average loan sizes accelerated, with the purchase amount setting another record.

Purchases increased, but refinance activity cooled again due to rising rates.

Mortgage applications were up for the first time in over a month, with government refinances in particular seeing a sizable bump.

The overall number of applications decreased for the fourth straight week, but average loan sizes headed back up, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Overall application activity was down by more than 40% compared with one year ago, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

The estimated rate of annual sales also dropped in January to its slowest pace since July.

Credit availability also tightened in January, contributing to early 2022’s lending slowdown, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Steadily climbing rates have contributed to a 40% decline in loan activity from one year ago.

But refinances came in 50% below levels from a year ago, with rate-and-term activity falling by over 40% in the third quarter of last year, according to TransUnion.

And a recent slowdown in government-backed loan issuance is pushing average purchase amounts to another record high.

But a surge in purchases led overall mortgage volumes to a weekly gain and pushed average loan size to a new record.