US DATA: Mortgage Applications Slip As Rate Bounces, More Typical Spreads Seen

• MBA mortgage applications fell -8.8% last week (purchases -10%, refis -10%) as the 30Y conforming mortgage rate pushed 13bps higher to 6.43% to more than unwind the prior week’s 10bp decline.
• Buoyed by the mortgage rate still some 36bps below early March levels (and 73bps below the Oct peak), purchase applications are still 12% above late Feb lows but remain historically depressed near lows otherwise last seen in the late 1990s.
• With the jumbo loan rate only increasing 2bps to 6.28%, the spread pushed back to +15bps after prior narrowing had been seen as a sign of tighter credit conditions.

30Y contract rate (white), 30Y jumbo contract rate (yellow) and spread (green)Source: Bloomberg