Refinance applications bounce back ahead of Christmas

“Both conventional and government purchase applications were down, while the average purchase loan increased for the second straight week to $416,200 – the second-highest amount ever,” he said. “The elevated loan size is an indication that activity is more on the higher end of the market.”

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Meanwhile, refinance applications increased 2% week over week after slipping the week before. The refi share of mortgage activity grew from 63.3% to 65.2%.

“The 30-year fixed-rate decreased to 3.27% – its lowest level in four weeks – and helped spur an increase in refinances across all loan types. FHA and VA refinances jumped 4% and 12%, respectively,” Kan said.

Of total applications, the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) and FHA share of activity both remained unchanged at 3.4% and 9.6%, respectively. The VA share of total applications increased from 10.6% to 11.5%, while the USDA share decreased from 0.5% to 0.4%.