The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the weeks ending Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. For the week ending Dec. 24, the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior week. For the week ending Dec. 31, this index increased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Both weeks' results include an adjustment to account for the Christmas and New Year's Day holidays. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 23.7 percent the week before Christmas and 10 percent the week after.
For the week ending Dec. 24, the Refinance Index decreased 7.2 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3.1 percent from one week earlier. The following week, the Refinance Index increased 3.9 percent and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.8 percent. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 18.1 percent the week before Christmas and decreased 12.2 percent the week following. This measure was 12.1 percent higher and 6.1 percent lower, respectively, than the same period a year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity for the week ending Dec. 31 was 71 percent, an increase from 70.3 percent for the week ending Dec. 24.
For the week ending Dec. 24, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.93 percent from 4.84 percent, with points decreasing to 0.63 from 0.96 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) loans. For the week ending Dec. 31, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.82 percent with points increasing to 1.11.
For the week ending Dec. 24, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 4.22 percent, with points increasing to 1.34 from 1.19 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. For the week ending Dec. 31, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.23 percent with points decreasing to 1.00.
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