Tag Archives: Mortgage Rates

Mortgage refinance applications continued to suffer last week as mortgage rates climbed to their highest level in a year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined a seasonally adjusted 8.8 percent for the week ending May 24, MBA reported. Unadjusted, the index dropped 9 percent week-over-week. The Refinance Index decreased 12 percent, the largest single-week drop in refinance volume so far this year.

Fixed mortgage rates trended higher for the third consecutive week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com.

Mortgage applications continued on a downward slope last week, with refinance volume falling to its lowest level in months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped 9.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 17, MBA reported. The Refinance Index decreased 12 percent week-over-week--the fastest weekly drop this year.

In its most recent economic outlook, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group revealed expectations for the economy to continue the modest recovery and grow 2.2 percent this year.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.51 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending May 16, a significant climb from last week.

Trulia tossed its two cents into the bubble debate with the release of Trulia Bubble Watch, a report that compares various price indexes to per-capita income and rent data.

After spending the last month approaching record lows, fixed mortgage rates reversed the trend this week. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.42 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending May 9, up from last week, when it averaged 3.35 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.83 percent. According to Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, the rise in fixed rates this week was a reaction to April's better than expected employment report.

After examining mortgage application data throughout April, Capital Economics sees "mounting evidence that mortgage-dependent buyers are starting to play a fuller role in the housing market recovery." Compiling information provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), Capital Economics found that total application volume was up 3.5 percent from March to April. In its latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey (for the week ending May 3), MBA reported a 7.0 percent increase in applications.

Rates fell all around in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending May 2.

Mortgage rates, loan values, loan terms, and loan-to-price ratios all rose in March, according to a report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).