9/10/2014
By Jennifer Coombs

Early Wednesday morning, the Mortgage Bankers’ Association (MBA) released its weekly mortgage applications report for the week ended September 5^th, and unfortunately, it was not great news as activity slid to its lowest level of banking activity since December 2000. The overall composite fell 7.2% after rising 0.2% the prior week. The purchasing index decreased 3% following a 2% decrease the prior week, and the refinancing component fell a whopping 11% after rising 1.0%. The year-over-year rate for the purchase index is at a negative 12%. Also, the average 30-year mortgage rate for conforming loans increased 2 basis points to 4.27%. Distortions due to Labor Day may be at play in the big weekly declines, but trends in this report were already pointing down, so this is even a bigger disappointment. This index is a leading indicator for single-family home sales and housing construction, so any setback could mean further interest rate delays at the Fed resulting in slow-dragging growth for the rest of America.

Jennifer Coombs
Wall Street Strategies

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