Mortgage Applications in U.S. Rebound the Week after Christmas

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the weeks ending December 31, 2010, the Market Composite Index increased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.  This result includes an adjustment to account for the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 23.7 percent the week before Christmas and 10.0 percent the week after.

Concurrently the Refinance Index increased 3.9 percent and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.8 percent.  The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 18.1 percent the week before Christmas and decreased 12.2 percent the week following. This measure was 12.1 percent higher and 6.1 percent lower, respectively, than the same period a year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity for the week ending December 31, 2010 was 71.0 percent, an increase from 70.3 percent for the week ending December 24, 2010.

For the week ending December 24, 2010, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.93 percent from 4.84 percent, with points decreasing to 0.63 from 0.96 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) loans. For the week ending December 31, 2010, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.82 percent with points increasing to 1.11.

For the week ending December 24, 2010, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 4.22 percent, with points increasing to 1.34 from 1.19 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. For the week ending December 31, 2010, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.23 percent with points decreasing to 1.00.

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