The first week of June saw a significant spike in mortgage applications nationwide, indicating the housing market is healthy and thriving.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported that for the week ending June 3, 2016, mortgage applications had increased 9.3 percent over the previous week. The MBA uses the Market Composite Index to calculate the volume of mortgage loan applications nationwide. Several different factors influence the overall increase or decrease in mortgage applications over the previous weeks.
The Refinance Index increased 7 percent over the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 12 percent. The refinance portion of mortgage activity decreased from 54.3 percent to 53.8 percent, with the adjustable-rate mortgage numbers holding at 5.0 percent of total applications.
There has also been movement in the interest rates for mortgage applications. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a balance of $417,000 or less decreased slightly from 3.85 percent to 3.83 percent. For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with a balance over $417,000 the interest rate remained unchanged at 3.81 percent. For FHA backed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the average interest increased from 3.65 percent to 3.71 percent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages saw a decrease in average interest, with a new rate of 3.11 percent, down from 3.12 percent.