Mortgage applications in the United States experienced a significant rise in the week ending on May 3rd, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on the following Wednesday. The MBA notes that the Market Composite Index, an indicator of mortgage loan application volume, saw a jump of 2.6 percent after a decline of 2.3 percent the week before.
MBA's Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Mike Fratantoni, further elaborated on these figures, explaining that "Mortgage applications increased for the first time in three weeks, with refinances rising by 5 percent." However, he also highlighted that "even with this rise, which included a 29 percent surge in VA refinances, refinance volume remains about 6 percent lower than last year's already low figures."
According to the Association's report, the Refinance Index increased by 5 percent from the previous week, but still sat 6 percent lower than the same week from a year ago. Meanwhile, the Purchase Index also saw a 2 percent rise compared with the week prior, albeit being 17 percent lower than the same time period a year ago.