After rising steadily for four months, the volume of new mortgage insurance slipped 2.5% in July from the June level, according to Mortgage Insurance Companies of America.
Net new insurance totaled $12.75 billion, down from $13.08 billion in June, the trade group said. The volume, however, was up sharply from the $8.71 billion of July 1992.
James Miller, president of Commonwealth Mortgage Assurance Company, the Philadelphia-based mortgage insurer, said the drop may be related to a late spring slowing of loan originations.
Refinancings a Factor?
"A dip in the May-June period refinancings applications may have had the effect of lowering the amount of mortgage insurance the industry closed in July," he said.
An industry index of applications for refinancing fell from 1051.4 at the end of April to 741.6 in mid-June before rebounding to its present level of 1381.
New Mortgage insurance written lags mortgage refinancing applications by about 30 to 45 days, according to Rob Rosenblatt, an economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association of America in Washington.
If the lower rate of refinancings initiated in May and June did slow the amount of new mortgage insurance written in July, the industry presumably will report improving figures for August and September.
New Policies Dip
The number of new policies written also dropped in July. New mortgage insurance certificates fell to 112,022 from, from 166,496 in June, according to MICA. The July certificate number represents a 44.2% increase from the corresponding period a year ago.
Meanwhile, insurance written on pools of loans backing mortgage securities plunged 20.9% from June, to $2.87 billion.
