Mortgage Rates North Of 6.5% Trigger Sharp Drop In Applications

Mortgage applications decreased 10.4% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 27.

On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 10% compared with the previous week.

The refinance index decreased 17% from the previous week and was 33% higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 3% from one week earlier. The unadjusted purchase index decreased 2% compared with the previous week and was 1% higher than the same week one year ago.

“The 30-year mortgage rate, now at 6.57%, reached its highest level since last August and is up half a percentage point from just one month ago. Refinance application volumes declined sharply again last week, dropping 17%, and are down more than 40% compared to last month,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist.

“Seasonally adjusted purchase application volume also declined over the week, but only by 3%,” he added. “The headwinds of higher rates are being offset somewhat by the buyer’s market in many parts of the country – there are more homes for sale than buyers have seen in some time. … Moreover, purchase applications for FHA and VA loans continue to hold up better than those for conventional buyers. However, the shocks of the jump in rates and the increase in overall economic uncertainty are likely having an impact on buyer confidence.”

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 45.3% of total applications, down from 49.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 8% of total applications.

By product, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) share of total applications decreased to 19.5%, down from 19.7% the week prior. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) share increased from 15.9% to 16.1%, while the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) share remained unchanged at 0.5%.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased 6 basis points to 6.57%, while rates for loans with jumbo balances increased 14 bps to 6.59%.

The average rate for 30-year fixed loans backed by the FHA rose by 10 bps to 6.25%, and rates for 15-year fixed mortgages rose by 6 bps to 5.89%.

Interest rates for 5/1 ARMs bucked the trend, decreasing from 5.75% to 5.67% during the week.

Xactus Mortgage Intent Index

Xactus‘s Mortgage Intent Index — which analyzes aggregated, anonymized credit-pull activity across the Xactus Intelligent Verification Platform — slipped to 143.1, down from last week’s reading of 146.0.

“Elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty continue to create headwinds for borrower intent, dampening what had been a promising start to the spring homebuying season,” said Thomas Lloyd, chief strategy officer for Xactus. “Mortgage intent declined roughly 2% week over week and is approximately 5% below the same week last year, marking the third consecutive weekly decline.”