Residential mortgage applications rose 11.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Jan. 28, with purchase money loans gathering steam, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The trade group noted that the percentage of refinance applications hit a low (69.3% of all new business) not seen since last May.
MBA said that when the figures are viewed on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, applications rose by 13.2%. (The comparison is to the week prior.)
Overall, mortgage applications increased relative to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week, but compared to the most recent two full weeks, new business was essentially flat.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 9.5% (16.7% unadjusted) over the previous week but was 21.4% lower than a year ago.
Refi apps rose 11.7% week-to-week but were down about 5% compared to the most recent two full weeks.
The percentage of ARM applications rose to 5.5% of total business from 5.2%.
The trade group said the average contract rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 4.81% for the week ending Jan. 28, up slightly from 4.80% the week prior. However, its effective rate decreased because average points (including the origination fee) for loans of this type with an 80% loan-to-value ratio dropped to 1.02 from 1.19.
Meanwhile, the average 15-year FRM contract rate inched up a basis point to 4.13%, but saw its effective rate drop too. Eighty-percent LTV loans of this type had an average 1.01 points including the origination fee, down from 1.26% the previous week.
