Mortgage Application Activity Rises Again

Mortgage application activity picked up for the week ending April 12, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier while the unadjusted index rose by 4%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5% from one week earlier and the unadjusted index was up by 6% – although the latter was also 10% lower than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index inched up by 0.5% from the previous week and was 11% higher than the same week one year ago. However, the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 32.1% of total applications from 33.3% the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 12.3% from 12.1% the week prior while the VA share of total applications dropped to 12.4% from 14.0% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged.

Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist. Opined that application activity increased “possibly as some borrowers decided to act in case rates continue to rise. Purchase applications drove most of the increase but remain at low levels of around 10% behind last year’s pace. Refinance applications increased very slightly, driven by a 3% gain in conventional applications.”