Mortgage Refi Applications Uptick This Week as Rates Slightly Dip

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey  for the week ending January 7, the Market Composite Index increased 2.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 47.5 percent compared with the previous week, which included the New Year's holiday.

The Refinance Index increased 4.9 percent from the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.7 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 41.9 percent compared with the previous week and was 10.5 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

 The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 5.3 percent.  The four week moving average is down 1.0 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is down 7.5 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 72.1 percent of total applications from 71.0 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.9 percent from 5.0 percent of total applications in the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.78 percent from 4.82 percent, with points decreasing to 0.91 from 1.10 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.  This is the second straight decline for the 30-year fixed rate, which is now 15 basis points lower than the survey's seven-month high observed two weeks ago.  The effective rate also decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.15 percent from 4.23 percent, with points increasing to 1.01 from 1.00 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

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