Mortgage Application Volumes Slightly Uptick Last Week

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 27, 2012, mortgage applications increased 0.1 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 0.4 percent compared with the previous week. 

The Refinance Index decreased 0.7 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2.9 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3.7 percent compared with the previous week and was 3.0 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 0.09 percent.  The four week moving average is down 1.77 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 0.75 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 72.6 percent of total applications from 73.4 percent the previous week. The government share of purchase applications remained steady at 37.0 percent, a slight increase from a couple of weeks ago when the share was 36.4 percent. The government share of purchase applications over the last three weeks has been at the lowest level since 2009.

During the month of March, the investor share of applications for home purchase was at 5.7 percent, a slight decrease from 6.1 percent in February.  This change was led by a decline in the West South Central region.  In addition, the share of purchase mortgages for second homes remained constant at 5.8 percent.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less)increased to 4.05 percent from 4.04 percent, with points increasing to 0.44 from  0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) increased to 4.32 percent from 4.27 percent, with points decreasing to 0.38 from 0.44 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.80 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.81 percent, with points decreasing to 0.50 from 0.52 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.31 percent, the lowest rate in the history of the survey, from 3.32 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.87 percent from 2.81 percent, with points decreasing to 0.35 from 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.