Mortgage Applications in U.S. Dip in Mid-February

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 15, 2013, mortgage applications decreased 1.7 percent from one week earlier.
 
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 1 percent compared with the previous week.
 
The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 17 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
 
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 77 percent of total applications, the lowest level since May 2012, from 78 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 4percent of total applications.
 
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased to 3.78 percent, the highest rate since August 2012, from 3.75 percent, with points decreasing to 0.40 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The contract interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages has increased for nine of the last ten weeks.  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 3.94 percent from 3.98 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 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 increased to 3.54 percent, the highest rate since August 2012, from 3.53 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.
 
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.03 percent, the highest rate since September 2012, from 3.01 percent, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.28 (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 remained unchanged at 2.66 percent, with points increasing to 0.32 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increased from last week.