Mortgage applications increased by just over 1% for the week ending October 7, with refinancings remaining steady at about 79% of all new business.
According to a survey conducted by the Mortgage Bankers Association, most of the increase was driven by government-backed lending, namely FHA and VA loans.
According to its proprietary index, MBA said government-backed purchase money loans rose 2.4% with refinancings increasing by 9.9%. By comparison, the conventional purchase and refinance indexes increased 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
The trade group also reported that the average size of a purchase money loan was $210,863 in September, compared to $212,736 in August. The average size for a refi was $237,632, compared to $241,323 the month prior.
For the week, lenders were quoting FRMs at 4.25% with 0.47 points, a slight increase from the week prior.
