Mortgage Applications Decrease 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 February 27, 2009.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 649.7, a decrease of 12.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 743.5 one week earlier, which was a shortened week due to the Presidents' Day holiday.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 2.0 percent compared with the previous week and 6.7 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
 
The Refinance Index decreased 15.3 percent to 3063.4 from 3618.0 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5.6 percent to 236.4 from 250.5 one week earlier.  The seasonally adjusted Conventional Purchase Index decreased 6.5 percent while the Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) decreased 3.9 percent.
 
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 4.8 percent to 717.3.  The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index is down 2.5 percent to 245.0, which is the lowest level since April 1998. This average is down 5.7 percent to 3469.2 for the Refinance Index.
 
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 66.9 percent of total applications from 69.7 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 2.3 percent from 1.9 percent of total applications from the previous week.
 
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.14 percent from 5.07 percent, with points decreasing to 1.05 from 1.25 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
 
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.73 percent from 4.71 percent, with points increasing to 1.13 from 1.12 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
 
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs was unchanged at 6.13 percent, with points decreasing to 0.18 from 0.21 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

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