Mortgage Application Activity Soars by 33%

Mortgage applications activity went into overdrive in the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ending Jan. 10; the data included an adjustment for the New Year’s holiday.

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, soared by 33.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier while the unadjusted index took off by 52% compared with the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 27% from one week earlier while the unadjusted index rose by 48% compared with the previous week – the latter was also 2% lower than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index increased 44% from the previous week and was 22% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity rose to 42.7% of total applications from 40.8% the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications remained unchanged at 16.9% from the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 15.7% from 16.2% and the USDA share of total applications dipped to 0.5% from 0.6% the week prior.

Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, observed this time of the year is traditionally a volatile time for application volumes, “so it can be more helpful to focus on the level rather than the percent change. Purchase applications were 2% lower, and refinances were 22% higher compared to a year ago. Total applications were up by 33.3%, the highest level in a month, as both purchase and refinance applications saw large percentage increases over the week.”