Apps drop 2.5 percent from previous week in latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Nov. 13, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume decreased 2.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3.3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 1.4 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4.7 percent from one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index has declined for six consecutive weeks and is at its lowest level since November 1997. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 7.9 percent compared with the previous week and was 14.7 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 1.2 percent. The four week moving average is down 5.8 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 1.4 percent for the Refinance Index. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 72.9 percent of total applications from 71.5 percent the previous week. This refinance share is the highest share since the week ending May 15, 2009. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 5.4 percent from 5.5 percent of total applications from the previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.83 percent from 4.90 percent, with points increasing to 1.17 from 1.03 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. This is the lowest contract rate observed by the survey since mid-May of this year. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.32 percent from 4.33 percent, with points decreasing to 1.01 from 1.15 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.82 percent from 6.85 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. For more information, visit www.mortgagebankers.org.