Mortgage Loan Apps Down by 5%

Mortgage loan application volume declined by 5% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week that ended Jan. 20, as interest rates on some fixed-rate loans rebounded from their all-time lows, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The refinance index declined by 5.2% from the previous week, and the market share of refi applications fell to 81.3% from 82.2%. Purchase application volume declined by 5.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. It was down 6.5% on an unadjusted basis from a year earlier.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased by 5 basis points to 4.11%; the average contract interest rate for 30-year Federal Housing Administration-insured loans increased 6 basis points to 3.97%; and the average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs increased 7 basis points to 3.33%.