While weekly new mortgage activity turned lower ahead of Christmas, there was a year-over-year gain. The share of prospective borrowers extracting cashout or opting for an adjustable-rate mortgage continued to grow.
Mortgage Daily’s U.S. Mortgage Market Index, which provides insight into upcoming loan originations based on average per-user rate locks by OpenClose clients, was 121 in the week ended Dec. 22.
The index, which is not adjusted to reflect seasonal factors, tumbled 17 percent versus the preceding week. But a more telling comparison is the year-over-year change: up 7 percent.
Source: Mortgage Daily
