MBA: Mortgage applications drop 3.2%

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a week-over-week decrease of 3.2% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending November 20th. The unadjusted purchase index increased by 5% for the week, and is now 24% higher year-over-year.

David Blitzer, S&P Dow Jones Indices committee chairman and managing director, said “It [some buyers might buy homes while rates are low] is not likely to push mortgage rates far above the recent level of 4 percent on 30-year conventional loans”.

A report by housingwire.com detailed the changes in the mortgage rates after an increase has taken into effect.

The Federal Housing Administration’s share of total applications decreased to 13.7% from 14.4% the week prior.

Meanwhile, fixed 30-year mortgage rates fell from 4.18% to 4.14%.

By switching to or negotiating for a variable home loan rate just 0.1 percentage point below the average of 5.2%, mortgage holders can potentially save $8,415 over a 30-year loan term, based on the national average mortgage size of $379,400. They are still 4 percent higher compared with one year ago, when interest rates were slightly higher. The Veterans Affairs’ share of total applications decreased to 11% from 11.7% the week prior. 20 year fixed rate mortgage interest rates at the bank are on the books at 3.625% and an April of 3.841% today. The survey covers about 75% of the U.S. mortgage market.