Mortgage Applications Redux
On its face, this morning’s reported 32% jump in mortgage applications is an anomaly in the current market environment.
The Mortgage Bankers Association today said its Market Composite Index for the week ended Jan. 4 was 706, up 32.2% from 533.9 the previous week. The 4-wk moving average for the seasonally adjusted MCI was down 4.1% to 624.4.
But the MCI, which measures mortgage loan application volume, counts multiple applications of prospective homeowners who experience difficulty securing mortgages the first time around. The data is also subject to seasonal variations — previous-year trends show a drop in applications in December and a spike in January.