Mortgage Application Volumes Down in U.S.

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 3, the Market Composite Index decreased 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 22.8 percent compared with the previous week, which included the Thanksgiving Holiday.

The Refinance Index decreased 1.4 percent from the previous week. This is the fourth weekly decrease for the Refinance Index which reached its lowest level since June 2010. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.8 percent from one week earlier. This is the third weekly increase for the Purchase Index which reached its highest level since early May 2010. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 21.3 percent compared with the previous week and was 12.0 percent lower than the same week one year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 8.0 percent.  The four week moving average is up 2.8 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is down 10.9 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 75.2 percent of total applications from 74.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.66 percent from 4.56 percent, with points decreasing to 0.95 from 0.96 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The average contract interest rate increased for the fourth consecutive week and is at the highest level since July 2010.  The effective rate also increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.98 percent from 3.91 percent, with points increasing to 0.97 from 0.88 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The average contract interest rate increased for the second week in a row and is at the highest level since early September 2010.  The effective rate also increased from last week.

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