Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

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(News Source: Mortgage Bankers Association)

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 31, 2009.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 4.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.1 percent compared with the previous week and 18.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

The Refinance Index increased 7.2 percent from the previous week. The Index has climbed about 35 percent above its recent low at the end of June. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.9 percent from one week earlier. The index has experienced little change over the last three weeks, staying between 260 and 265.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 1.2 percent.  The four week moving average is down 2.0 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 3.8 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 54.2 percent of total applications from 52.6 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent of total applications the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.17 percent from 5.36 percent, with points increasing to 1.02 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.60 percent from 4.75 percent, with points decreasing to 1.00 from 1.14 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.67 percent from 6.66 percent; with points remaining unchanged at 0.09 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

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