Mortgage Applications in U.S. Dip in Early March

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 6, 2015, mortgage applications decreased 1.3 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent from the previous week to the lowest level since January 2015. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 2 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 60 percent of total applications from 62 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.6 percent of total applications. The average loan size for purchase applications increased to the highest level in the history of the survey at $294,900.

The FHA share of total applications decreased to 14.0 percent this week from 14.6 percent last week. The VA share of total applications increased to 10.8 percent this week from 9.8 percent last week. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from last week at 0.8 percent.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) increased to 4.01 percent, the highest level since the week ending January 2, 2015, from 3.96 percent, with points increasing to 0.39 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 4.02 percent from 3.95 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.27 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.80 percent from 3.76 percent, with points decreasing to 0.20 from 0.21 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.29 percent, the highest level since the week ending December 26, 2014, from 3.27 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 3.18 percent from 3.05 percent, with points decreasing to 0.40 from 0.50 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.