MBA: Mortgage rates erase previous week’s decline with notable increases

Following a week in which average interest rates for all mortgage types saw significant declines, undoubtedly delighting those attempting to consolidate debt by refinancing their home, rates either remained stagnant or increased drastically during the week ending March 19.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest Weekly Mortgage Applications survey released on Wednesday, the average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages shot up by 0.1 percentage points to inch back over the 5 percent threshold as it settled at 5.01 percent. The increase completely erased the 0.1 percentage point decline one week earlier that had dropped the rate below 5 percent

Fifteen-year FRMs fared just as poorly, as their average interest rate tacked on 0.09 percentage points to hit 4.33 percent for the week. One week prior, the average rate had enjoyed a much more promising 0.07 percentage point decline.

The average rate for one-year ARMs easily had the best week of all the mortgage types as it remained unchanged at 6.75 percent for the week. It had dropped to that rate one week earlier, thanks to a rate decline of 0.05 percentage points over the course of the week.

Likely due to the rising rates, the volume of mortgage loan applications decreased by 4.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the course of the week, with refinance applications declining 7.1 percent in the same timeframe. The overall loan volume decline came after a 1.9 percent decline recorded by the MBA last week.