Florida Home Mortgage Applications Fall

Florida home mortgage applications fell for the first time in four weeks, weighed down by sagging demand for home purchase loans.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both Florida refinance and purchase loans, for the week ending May 11 dipped 0.8 percent.

The four-week moving average of Florida mortgage applications, which evens out the more volatile weekly figures, was up 1.7 percent.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.13 percent, up 0.03 percent from the previous week.

The mortgage rates, however, remain significantly below their year-ago levels of 6.66 percent.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase index, considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales, fell 1.4 percent to 432.3 after hitting 438.3 the prior week, its highest level since the week ending January 12 (439.7).

State mortgage application activity is down despite favorable conditions in many respects. The index, however, was above its year-ago level of 426.7.

The seasonally adjusted index of Florida mortgage refinancing applications rose slightly to 2,115.5 from 2,115.2 in the prior week, and a year ago at this time, the index stood at 1,546.8.

The refinance share of mortgage applications increased to 42.1 percent from 41.8 percent the previous week.

Fixed 15-year Florida mortgage rates averaged 5.81 percent, down from 5.82 percent. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) decreased to 5.61 percent from 5.71 percent.

The ARM share of activity decreased to 17.4 percent from 18 percent in the previous week, as bad credit Florida home loan problems continue to quell demand for adjustable-rate options.

The Florida housing market, in general, tends to be volatile and has in the recent past painted a mixed picture, with some pointing to weakening and others to stabilization in the hard-hit sector.

SOURCE: Reuters