Per the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) survey through the week ending October 6th, total mortgage activity increased 0.6% from the previous week and the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rate rose 14 basis points to 7.67%. The FRM rate has increased 40 basis points over the past month to its highest level since 2000.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose by 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis from one week earlier. Purchasing activity increased 0.6%, while refinancing activity increased 0.3% week-over-week.
Interest rates remained above seven and a half percent for the second consecutive week. The combination of increased rates and low existing for-sale inventory have continued to dismay potential buyers as the purchase index remained historically low. The seasonally adjusted purchase index was 19.4% lower than one year ago while the seasonally adjusted refinancing index was 8.8% lower than one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity fell from 31.7% to 31.6% over the week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity rose to 9.2% from 8%, the highest share since November 2022. The average loan size for purchases was $421,600 at the start of October, down from $414,200 over the month of September. The average loan size for refinancing decreased from $254,700 over the month of September to $245,100. The average loan size for an ARM was down at start of October to $817,100 while the average loan size for a FRM fell to $320,200.
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