Mortgage applications increased 12% over last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 28, 2022.
Key findings:
- While the The Market Composite Index showed a seasonally adjusted 12% increase, the unadjusted number of applications increased 15% versus last week.
- The Refinance Index increased 18% from the previous week and was 50% lower than the same week one year ago.
- The seasonally adjusted Purchase index increased 4% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 12% compared with the previous week and was 7%lower than the same week one year ago.
- The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 57.3% of total applications from 55.8% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 4.5% of total applications.
- The FHA share of total applications decreased to 7.7% from 8.6% the week prior. The VA share of total applications decreased to 9.1% from 9.9% the week prior. The USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.5% the week prior.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) increased to 3.78% from 3.72%, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $647,200) increased to 3.59% from 3.56%, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
The takeaway:
“Most mortgage rates in MBA’s survey continued to rise, with the 30-year fixed rate reaching its highest level since March 2020 at 3.78%. Despite the increase in rates, refinance applications were up 18%, driven mainly by a 22% jump in conventional applications. There has likely been some recent volatility in application counts due to holiday-impacted weeks, as well as from borrowers trying to secure a refinance before rates go even higher. Purchase applications also increased in the final full week of January but remained 7% lower than a year ago. The average purchase loan size hit a new survey high once again at $441,100. Stubbornly low inventory levels and swift home-price growth continue to push average loan sizes higher.”
– Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of economic and industry forecasting
