Mortgage Application Activity Up by a Slight 0.5%

Mortgage applications inched up during the week ending Aug. 23, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index dipped by 1%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was up by 1% percent from one week earlier, but the unadjusted index was down by 1% – the latter was also 9% lower than the same week one year ago. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 5.5% of total applications.

The Refinance Index was 0.1% below the previous week’s level but was also 85% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity saw a mini-uptick to 46.6% of total applications from 46.3% the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 15.3% from 15.6% while the VA share of total applications increased to 15.9% from 15.3 percent and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged at 0.4%.

Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president and deputy chief economist, observed that “despite lower rates, purchase applications have not moved much. Prospective homebuyers are staying patient now that rates are moving lower and for-sale inventory has started to increase.”