Mortgage Applications Up In Latest MBA Weekly Survey

MBA (4/9/2008 ) Kemp, Carolyn
Mortgage applications rose by 5.4 percent last week as key interest rates held relatively steady, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 4.
The Market Composite Index rose to 725.6, an increase of 5.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 688.3 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5.7 percent compared with the previous week and was up 10.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The four-week moving average rose by 1.8 percent to 758.0 from 744.5.

The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index increased by 3.4 percent to 2724.7 from 2636.0 the previous week. The four-week moving average rose by 2.4 percent to 2987.8 from 2918.6. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 52.2 percent of total applications from 53.4 percent the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 8.1 percent to 384.7 from 356.0 one week earlier. The Conventional Purchase Index increased by 6.1 percent, while the Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) increased by 15.2 percent. On an unadjusted basis, the Conventional Purchase Index increased by 6.3 percent to 561.1 from 527.7 the previous week. The four-week moving average rose by 1.1 percent to 377.4 from 373.4.

The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index increased 3.8 percent to 935.8 from 901.8 the previous week; the seasonally adjusted Government Index increased 12.9 percent to 375.2 from 332.4 the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.78 percent from 5.75 percent, with points decreasing to 1.11 from 1.19 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.39 percent from 5.27 percent, with points decreasing to 1.11 from 1.13 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 7.06 percent from 7.00 percent, with points increasing to 1.46 from 1.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The ARM share of activity increased to 6.5 percent from 5.4 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The survey covers 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.