Mortgage Bankers Association

Mortgage application activity had its largest decline in a year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

An increase in conventional lending products drove the upturn, but the overall reading of the Mortgage Bankers Association index still landed near the longtime low from late 2023.

The quarterly rise in late payments on Federal Housing Administration loans was more than five times the increase for home loans overall.

While refinances shot up, purchase lending saw a second weekly pullback according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Aspiring buyers took out fewer loans last week, leading to the overall decline, but the average purchase-loan size also surged to its highest mark since last spring, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Home buying demand propelled overall volumes to a third straight weekly gain, as refinances fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Slightly more than one-fourth of borrowers with it experienced pandemic-related challenges, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

Lending activity among builders surged over 22% annually in December, but the growing share of FHA-backed borrowing in the segment took a step back for the first time in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Both purchases and refinances contributed to the weekly surge, with growth in government-backed volumes outpacing the overall market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The end-of-year slowdown comes after a recent fall surge, but overall activity still finished 6% below late 2022 levels, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.