Mortgage application volume increased a mere 0.4% on an adjusted basis during the week ended May 6, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
Applications for refinances increased 0.5%, while applications for purchases increased 0.4%, according to the report.
On an unadjusted basis, volume increased 1% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases increased 1%, on an unadjusted basis, and increased 14% compared with the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 52.8% of total applications from 52.9% the previous week.
The drop in applications for refinances is somewhat surprising, considering that mortgage rates fell again last week. The average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.82%, down from 3.87% the previous week.
The average rate for a 30-year jumbo FRM was 3.74%, down from 3.79%.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was 3.64%, down from 3.69%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.06%, down from 3.13%.
The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.93%, up from 2.91%.
The ARM share of activity increased to 5.7% of total applications.
Looking at application volume by loan type, applications for loans backed by the FHA represented about 13.0% of all applications – down from 13.5% the week prior. The Veterans Affairs share of total applications was 11.7%, up from 11.5%. The U.S. Department of Agriculture share remained unchanged at 0.7%.
