Mortgage Applications Decrease

by MD Home Reporter on October 21, 2010

RISMEDIA, October 21, 2010—The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 15, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index also decreased 10.5% compared with the previous week. This week’s results do not include an adjustment for the Columbus Day holiday.

The Refinance Index decreased 11.2% from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6.7% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 6.6% compared with the previous week and was 29.4% lower than the same week one year ago.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 0.4%. The four week moving average is down 1.1% for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 0.7% for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 82.4% of total applications from 83.1% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5.8% from 5.4% of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.34% from 4.21%, with points decreasing to 0.81 from 1.02 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. This is the first increase in the 30-year contract rate in six weeks. The effective rate also increased from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.74% from 3.62%, with points decreasing to 1.00 from 1.06 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. This is the first increase in the 15-year contract rate in six weeks. The effective rate also increased from last week.

For more information, visit www.mortgagebankers.org.

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