Mortgage application volume increased 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 20, with the gain in purchase applications outpacing the increase in refinancings. However, five weeks of declines in the interest rate on fixed rate loans came to an end, according to figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The trade group’s seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.5%. On an unadjusted basis, the index is 3.1% higher than the same week in 2010.
Glen Corso, managing director of the Community Mortgage Banking Project told National Mortgage News that his members have seen some improvement in applications the past few weeks. “Refis have come back a little bit,” he said.
MBA’s Refinance Index increased 0.9% from the previous week, reaching its highest point since Dec. 10, 2010.
The market share of refi applications increased slightly to 66.8% from 66.7% the week prior. This is the highest share of refi activity since the end of January. MBA tracks activity through its proprietary application index.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased 9 basis points to 4.69 % from 4.60%, with points decreasing to 0.69 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for the 15-year FRM increased 3 basis points to 3.78% from 3.75%. Points decreased to 1.04 from 1.22.
