Florida Mortgage Loan Applications Slide

Florida mortgage applications for both conventional home purchase loans and refinancing loans dropped last week as mortgage rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Tuesday.

The group reported that its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week, which tracks residential Florida home loans from mortgage banks, commercial banks and thrifts, fell 8.4 percent to 611.3.

The four-week moving average of Florida mortgage applications, which shows market trends and doesn’t over-emphasize the often volatile weekly figures, rose by 2.2 percent.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding points, averaged 6.22 percent, edging up 0.03 percent from the previous week. Local mortgage rates were also above year-ago levels of 6.04 percent.

The seasonally adjusted purchase index, widely considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales, slumped 8.4 percent, showing that the Florida housing market has a long way to go to reach normalcy. The index is also below its year-ago level of 473.7.

The index of Florida mortgage refinancing applications fell as well, by 9.6 percent to 1,848.8, the first drop by that index in four weeks. A year ago on this date, the index stood at 1,773.9. The refinancing share of total applications decreased to 47.8 percent from 49.9 percent.

Fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 5.93 percent, up from 5.92 percent. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (or ARMs) increased to 5.91 percent from 5.85 percent. The ARM share of activity decreased to 20.3 percent from 21.2 percent the previous week.

The National Association of Realtors will release data on sales of existing homes on Thursday, and the Florida Association of Realtors will follow with local statistics, giving us a better idea of where demand for Florida mortgage loans is headed in the coming months.