Mortgage Application Volumes in U.S. Uptick 3%, Says MBA Survey

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 1, 2013, mortgage applications increased 3.4 percent from one week earlier. Last week's results included an adjustment for the Martin Luther King holiday.
 
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 3.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 16 percent compared with the previous week.
 
The Refinance Index increased 4 percent from the previous week.
 
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier was at its highest level since the week ending May 7, 2010. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 21 percent compared with the previous week and was 16 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
 
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 78 percent of total applications from 79 percent the previous week and is the lowest refinance share observed since early July 2012. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained constant 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) increased to 3.73 percent from 3.67 percent, with points increasing to 0.43 from 0.42 (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 seven of the last eight 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) increased to 3.96 percent from 3.95 percent, with points decreasing to 0.38 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 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 3.53 percent from 3.48 percent, with points increasing to 0.38 from 0.33 (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 3.00 percent from 2.95 percent, with points decreasing to 0.33 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rateincreased from last week.
 
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs increased to 2.72 percent from 2.60 percent, with pointsdecreasing to 0.30 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate increasedfrom last week.