U.S. Mortgage Applications Uptick 12% in Early November

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 9, 2012, mortgage applications increased 12.6 percent from one week earlier.
 
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 12.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 12 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index increased 13 percent from the previous week, ending a five-week decline.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 11 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 8 percent compared with the previous week and was 22 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
 
"Following the decrease in applications two weeks ago due to the effects of Superstorm Sandy, mortgage applications in many East Coast states rebounded strongly this week," said Mike Fratantoni, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics.  "Application volume in New Jersey more than doubled over the week, while volume in Connecticut and New York increased more than 60 percent. In addition to the rebound in the states impacted by the storm, the 30 year fixed mortgage rate reached a new record low in the survey."
 
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 81 percent of total applications from 80 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 4 percent of total applications.
 
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.52 percent from 3.61 percent, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.45 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. This record low rate for 30 year fixed mortgages beats the previous survey low of 3.53 percent for the week ending September 28, 2012. The effective rate decreased from last week.
 
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 3.83 percent from 3.88 percent, with points increasing to 0.41 from 0.36 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.
 
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA decreased to 3.34 percent from 3.37 percent, with points increasing to 0.78 from 0.75 (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 2.88 percent from 2.95 percent, with points decreasing to 0.37 from 0.40 (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 decreased to 2.60 percent from 2.61 percent, with points decreasing to 0.30 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.