Refinance Applications Bounce back to Winter Levels

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended August 8. It was up 3 percent on an unadjusted basis.   The volume of both refinance and purchase mortgage applications gained ground from the prior week. The Refinance Index increased 3 percent although it was 8 percent lower than the same week in 2020. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 68.0 percent of total applications from 67.6 percent the previous week. The Purchase Index was 2 percent higher on a seasonally adjusted basis and up 1 percent before adjustment. The unadjusted index, however, was 18 percent lower than the same week a year earlier, a number that has not changed in four weeks.