Mortgage 'Refinance' Applications Dip 16.9% This Week, Says MBA

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) newest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 2nd, the Market Composite Index decreased 11.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10.5 percent compared with the previous week.

"Mortgage rates jumped last week as the Federal Reserve completed their purchases of mortgage-backed securities," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics.  "Refinance application volume dropped as mortgage rates reached their highest level since August 2009.  Purchase volume was essentially unchanged relative to the prior week going into the Easter weekend."

The Refinance Index decreased 16.9 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.2 percent from one week earlier.  The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 0.5 percent compared with the previous week and was 18.1 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The government purchase index increased significantly for the third straight week and as a result, the government share of purchase applications increased to 49.9 percent, its highest level since February 1990 and the third highest level in the history of the data.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 3.8 percent.  The four week moving average is up 3.2 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is down 6.9 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 58.7 percent of total applications from 63.2 percent the previous week, marking the lowest share observed in the survey since the week ending August 28, 2009. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.2 percent from 5.2 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.31 percent from 5.04 percent, with points decreasing to 0.64 from 1.07 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. This is the highest 30-year rate recorded in the survey since the first week of August 2009. The effective rate also increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.54 percent from 4.34 percent, with points decreasing to 0.92 from 0.98 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate also increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 7.03 percent from 6.88 percent, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

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