What is the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey?
The Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey is conducted weekly by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) to aggregate and analyze U.S. mortgage application activity.
Understanding the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
The MBA publishes data and analysis on the condition of real estate finance, including mortgages, refinancing, and new house purchases, every week based on the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Each week’s reports include indicators monitoring changes in fixed-rate, adjustable, conventional, and government loans and refinances.
It is important to remember that, in contrast to mortgage loan applications that close, the Weekly Mortgage Survey mainly collects data on mortgage applications filed weekly.
The Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey indices have been leading indicators in the mortgage finance and housing sectors since the survey’s inception in 1990. The supplied data offers historical insights on macro-trends in various sectors, even if most stakeholders interested in the patterns identified by the Weekly Application Survey may be focused on current trends and short-term projections.
The Mortgage Bankers Association was founded in 1914, although the Weekly Applications Survey has only existed since 1990. The group was established to provide farm loans and was initially known as the Farm Mortgage Bankers Association of America. The group renamed itself the Mortgage Bankers Association of America in 1926.
Although anyone in the real estate finance sector is welcome to join, independent mortgage banks make up the majority of MBA members. The remaining membership comprises commercial and community banks, credit unions, mortgage servicers, insurance and title agencies, and other entities. For its weekly reporting, the Weekly Applications Survey compiles member-reported data.
Indices and Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
The MBA released the survey findings from the previous week on Wednesday, along with a comparison of data analysis to show market trends. The MBA Refinance Index and the MBA Purchase Index are two indexes that real estate market participants pay close attention to.2.
The MBA Refinancing Index tracks the number of refinancing applications received, which reports the total amount each week along with the percentage change from the previous week and the index’s four-week moving average.
This method may help predict the volume of mortgages. Mortgage investors watch this index for trends that may affect them since a wave of refinancing may eventually result in lower payments to them than to other analysts who use refinancing data to forecast consumer spending on other products.
In a similar vein, the MBA Purchase Index keeps track of the number of fresh mortgage applications that are filed every week. Builders and developers may use these numbers to predict the development of new homes. This index provides market trend indicators, such as mortgage prepayment, to mortgage investors.
Conclusion
- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) collects and analyzes U.S. mortgage application activity weekly via the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
- The MBA publishes data and analysis on the condition of real estate finance, including mortgages, refinancing, and new house purchases, every week based on the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
- Since its inception in 1990, the Weekly Applications Survey’s indexes have served as leading indicators for the mortgage finance and housing sectors.
