Mortgage applications surge with large drop in rates in latest MBA Weekly SurveyMortgagePress.comMBA, Weekly Survey, statistics, Market Composite Index, Refinance Index, ARM
The Mortgage Bankers Association has released its Weekly
Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Nov. 28, 2008,
which was a shortened week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The
Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application
volume, was 857.7, an increase of 112.1 percent on a seasonally
adjusted basis from 404.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis,
the Index increased 51.4 percent compared with the previous week
and was down 21.9 percent compared with the same week one year
earlier.
"Many borrowers missed an opportunity to take advantage when
rates dropped sharply for a brief period when the GSEs were placed
under conservatorship," said Orawin Velz, Associate Vice President
of Economic Forecasting. "When rates plummeted following the Fed's
announcement that it would buy GSE debt and MBS, many of those on
the sidelines decided to quickly jump in and take advantage of
lower rates before they began to rebound."
The Refinance Index increased 203.3 percent to 3802.8 from the
previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased
38.0 percent to 361.1 from one week earlier. The Conventional
Purchase Index increased 37.4 percent while the Government Purchase
Index (largely FHA) increased 39.2 percent. All results include an
adjustment to account for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market
Index is up 29.7 percent this week. The four week moving average is
up 9.5 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while
this average is up 56.1 percent for the Refinance Index.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 69.1
percent of total applications from 49.3 percent the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to
1.4 percent from 3.0 percent of total applications from the
previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate
mortgages decreased to 5.47 percent from 5.99 percent, with points
decreasing to 1.16 from 1.23 (including the origination fee) for 80
percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate
mortgages decreased to 5.13 percent from 5.78 percent, with points
decreasing to 1.28 from 1.29 (including the origination fee) for 80
percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased
to 6.61 percent from 6.87 percent, with points decreasing to 0.52
from 0.64 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV
loans.
For more information, visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
