Mortgage applications rebounded a week following the Labor Day holiday even as interest rates increased to their highest level since June.
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However, for the weekly period ending Sept. 12, mortgage applications were up 7.9%, the Washington-based trade group said.
The refinance index was up 10% week-over-week, while the purchase index jumped 5% during this time period. Refinances accounted for 57% of total applications, the highest in seven months, and the adjustable rate-mortgage share of activity rose one basis point, to 7.6% of applications.
"Given the volatility in activity around the long weekend, it can be helpful to look at the change over a two-week span: refinance applications are down 1.4% while purchase applications are up 2.1%," said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association. "Purchase volume continues to track almost 10% behind last year's levels."
All mortgage interest rate types were up in this week's report, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and 30-year jumbo mortgages both increased nine basis points from a week earlier, to 4.36% and 4.24%, respectively. A 30-year mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration was up six basis points, to 4.03%. Additionally, the average 15-year fixed rate mortgage was up 12 basis points, to 3.56%.
The MBA survey covers 75% of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.