Mortgage Application Volumes in U.S. Down 5%

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According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 8, mortgage applications decreased 5.1 percent from one week earlier.  This week's results include an adjustment to account for the Fourth of July holiday.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 24.0 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2.6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 21.9 percent compared with the previous week and was 0.2 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index decreased 6.2 percent from the previous week, and was 42.1 percent lower than a year ago.  The Refinance Index has decreased the past four consecutive weeks, reaching its lowest level since April 29, 2011. The Refinance Index is not seasonally adjusted but is adjusted for the holiday.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 4.7 percent.  The four week moving average is down 1.0 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is down 6.3 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 65.6 percent of total applications from 66.4 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.5 percent from 6.1 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.55 percent from 4.69 percent, with points increasing to 0.99 from 0.90 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.  The effective rate also decreased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.68 percent from 3.79 percent, with points increasing to 1.10 from 0.88 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate also decreased from last week.

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