Mortgage applications posted that the refinance share of overall mortgage activity slightly fell to 74% of total applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
Despite the small drop, the refinance share of mortgage applications has hovered around 75% for quite some time.
But a quick look back in history paints a more intriguing story.
Wade Betz, vice president of sales with Guardian Mortgage, has tracked his personal purchase application volumes versus refinancing activity since he started at the firm in 2006.
Since Betz began, the refinance and purchase shares of mortgage activity have performed a 180.
According to Betz, in 2006, he had 75.54% purchase and 24.46% refinance application levels. In 2007, he posted 77% purchase and 23% refinance volumes.
However, the housing market crash in 2008 shook up the mortgage market and the percentage rapidly changed gears.
In 2008, Betz said he had 63.98% purchase and 36.02% refinancing activity, compared to 32.60% purchase and 67.40% activity in 2009.
The switch in percentages has stayed heavily on the refinance side since the crash, with Betz posting 63.91% in 2010, 56.23% in 2011 and 69.45% in 2012.
Most recently, Betz posted 40.49% purchase and 59.51% refinancing activity.
But try not to get too comfortable.
The market is likely to switch again and revert back to a purchase market in coming years. The faulty loans from the housing crash will fade out, and purchase applications will once again become king.
