Mortgage Applications Dip 4.5% in U.S.

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 10, 2012, mortgage applications decreased 4.5 percent from one week earlier.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 4.7 percent compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier.  The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased slightly from the previous week and is about 81 percent of total applications. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity is almost 4 percent  of total applications.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) remained unchanged at 3.76 percent, with points increasing to 0.47 from 0.46 (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) decreased to 4.03 percent from 4.04 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.35 (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 3.53 percent from 3.54 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.49 (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 increased to 3.12 percent from 3.08 percent, with points decreasing to 0.40 from 0.41 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.73 percent from 2.72 percent, with points decreasing to 0.36 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased from last week.