There was very little change in mortgage application activity for the second consecutive week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Application volume decreased 0.5% for the week ending Aug. 18, according to the MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. There was a 0.1% increase
The refinance index increased 0.3% from the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 2%. On an unadjusted basis, the purchase index decreased 3% compared with the previous week and was 9% higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance application share increased to 48.7% from 47.8% for the previous week.
Adjustable-rate loan application activity decreased to 6.4% from 6.6%, while the share of applications for Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages decreased to 10.1% from 10.2% the week prior.
The share of applications for Veterans Affairs-guaranteed loans decreased to 10.2% from 10.5% and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Rural Development share remained unchanged at 0.8%.
There was very little movement in interest rates for most loan types tracked by the MBA.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) remained unchanged from the week prior at 4.12%. For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100), the average contract rate decreased to 3.99% from 4.04%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased 1 basis point to 4.02%, while for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages the average decreased 1 basis point to 3.4%.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.27% from 3.34%.
