WRE NEWS

Mortgage application activity inched up last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, was up by 0.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis week-over-week, while the unadjusted index dipped by 0.1%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2% while the unadjusted index slipped by 0.1% – the latter was also 12% lower than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index decreased 0.4% from the previous week, although it was also 30% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 35.2% of total applications.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 12.7% from 13.1% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 14.8% from 14.7% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.4%.

“Purchase volume is still more than 10% behind last year’s pace, but MBA is forecasting a pickup in home sales for the remainder of the year as more inventory is hitting the market,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist.