U.S. Mortgage Applications up 6.3% This Week

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Based on the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 9, 2011, mortgage applications increased 6.3 percent from one week earlier. This week's results include an adjustment to account for the Labor Day holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 6.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 15.4 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 7.0 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 16.2 percent compared with the previous week and was 7.2 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index increased 6.0 percent from the previous week, stopping a run of three consecutive weekly decreases. The Refinance Index is not seasonally adjusted but is adjusted for the holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the Refinance Index decreased 15.2 percent and is 23.5 percent lower than the same week a year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 2.9 percent. The four week moving average is up 0.5 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is down 3.9 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 77.3 percent of total applications from 77.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 6.9 percent from 7.1 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.17 percent from 4.23 percent, with points decreasing to 0.97 from 1.04 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week. The 30-year fixed contract rate is the lowest in the history of the survey, with the previous low being 4.21 percent in the week ending October 8, 2010.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.40 percent from 3.41 percent, with points increasing to 1.17 from 0.94 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate also increased from last week. The 15-year fixed contract is the lowest in the history of the survey, just edging out last week's rate as the record low.

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