Mortgage applications continued their decline this week, dropping 2% from last week’s 14.2% decrease, according to Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Oct. 7, 2022.
Key findings:
- The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 2% compared with the previous week.
- The Refinance Index decreased 2% from the previous week and was 86% lower than the same week one year ago.
- The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2% from one week earlier. The unadjusted index decreased 2% compared with the previous week, and was 39% lower than the same week one year ago.
- The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 29% of total applications.
- The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 11.7% of total applications.
- The FHA share of total applications increased to 13.5% from 13.2% the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.9% from 10.7% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.5% from 0.6% the week prior.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 6.81% from 6.75%, with points increasing to 0.97 from 0.95 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $647,200) increased to 6.25% from 6.14%, with points decreasing to 0.61 from 0.79 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 6.61% from 6.60%, with points increasing to 1.71 from 1.51 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.12% from 5.96%, with points increasing to 1.30 from 1.08 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 5.56% from 5.36%, with points decreasing to 0.9 from 1.02 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The takeaway:
“Mortgage rates moved higher once again during the first week of the fourth quarter of 2022, with the 30-year conforming rate reaching 6.81%, the highest level since 2006. Mortgage rates increased across all product types in MBA’s survey, with the largest, a 20-basis-point increase, for 5-year ARM loans. The ARM share of applications remained quite high at 11.7%–just below last week’s level,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist. “Application volumes for both refinancing and home purchases declined and continue to fall further behind last year’s record levels. The news that job growth and wage growth continued in September is positive for the housing market, as higher incomes support housing demand. However, it also pushed off the possibility of any near-term pivot from the Federal Reserve on its plans for additional rate hikes.”
