U.S. mortgage applications plummeted 14.9 percent for the week ending Oct. 14, according to weekly data from the Mortgage Bankers Association released today, on a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis.
Refinancings, which are not seasonally adjusted, also fell further, by 16.6 percent this week.
The refinance share of mortgage decreased to 77.6 percent of total applications from 79.1 percent the prior week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity fell again, to 5.8 percent from 6 percent.
For the second straight week, mortgage rates increased across the board. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances (less than $417,500 under a new law) increased to 4.33 percent from 4.25 percent, while jumbo loans increased to 4.64 percent from 4.59 percent. For FHA-backed 30-year fixed-rate mortgages the average rate rose six-hundredths of a percentage point to 4.12 percent. Additionally, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.61 percent from 3.53 percent. — Adam Fusfeld