Refinancing Activity Down 82% Compared to August 2021

Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending August 5^th, total mortgage activity increased slightly and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose four basis points to 5.47%. The FRM rate has declined 35 bps over the past month but remains roughly 2.5 percentage points higher than it was a year ago.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased by 0.2% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity declined 1.4% while refinancing increased 3.5%.

Purchase applications are 18.5% below the August 2021 level and have decreased 17 of 31 weeks in 2022, including five of the last six weeks. The refinance activity index has plummeted 82.0% over the past year and has posted a weekly decline in 22 weeks since the start of 2022.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased from 30.8% to 32.0% over the week. Conversely, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.4% of total applications, down from 9.5% one month prior.

Tags: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, home purchases, interest rates, mba, mortgage bankers association, mortgage finance, mortgages, refinancing, single-family mortgages