Record low mortgage rates helped drive an increase in refinance activity across the country last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest surveys.
The MBA’s Refinance Index, part of its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, showed that refinance activity for the week ending for the week ending July 10 increased 12 percent from the previous week and was 107 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 64.2 percent of total applications from 60.1 percent the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent from one week earlier. The previous week’s index had included an adjustment for the July Fourth holiday. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 5 percent compared with the previous week and was 16 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates continued their downward trend, with the 30-year fixed rate falling 7 basis points to 3.19 percent – another record low in MBA’s survey and 63 basis points lower than the recent high in late March. The drop in rates led to a jump in refinance activity to the highest level in a month, with refinance loan balances also climbing to a high last seen in March,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting, said in a statement. “Purchase applications fell over the week but remained 15 percent higher than a year ago – the eighth consecutive week of year-over-year increases. Purchase activity remains relatively strong, despite the continued economic uncertainty and high unemployment caused by the ongoing pandemic.”
Overall, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 5.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 16 percent compared with the previous week.
The FHA share of total applications increased to 11.1 percent from 10.9 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.0 percent from 10.4 percent the week prior
