Refinance up on another record low mortgage rates

 Mortgage applications decreased 1.2 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 4, 2020. The previous week's results included an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 40 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 2 percent from the previous week and was 89 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 29 percent compared with the previous week and was 22 percent higher than the same week one year ago.  

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 72.0 percent of total applications from 69.5 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 1.7 percent of total applications.   The FHA share of total applications increased to 9.9 percent from 9.1 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 12.7 percent from 11.9 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.4 percent the week prior.  

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($510,400 or less) decreased to a survey low of 2.90 percent from 2.92 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from  0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.   The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $510,400) increased to 3.20 percent from 3.19 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.30 (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 decreased to a survey low of 2.97 percent from 3.00 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to a survey low of 2.51 percent from 2.53 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.27 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate remained unchanged from last week.