Mortgage application volume slides again
According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 23, 2012, mortgage application volume decreased 0.9 percent from one week earlier, which includes an adjustment for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of overall mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier, and on an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 24.0 percent compared with the previous week.
The Refinance Index decreased 2.0 percent from the previous week, and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3.0 percent from one week earlier. Like the overall Market Composite, the unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 24.0 percent compared with the previous week and was 8.0 percent higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 81 percent of total applications from the previous week, where it has hovered for months. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.0 percent of total applications, and the government share of purchase applications decreased to 33.0 percent, its lowest share in the survey since early 2009.
Average contract interest rates
According to the MBA:
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.53 percent from 3.54 percent, with points remaining constant at 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) decreased to 3.75 percent from 3.76 percent, with points decreasing to 0.31 from 0.40 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA remained unchanged at 3.36 percent, with points increasing to 0.65 from 0.63 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 2.89 percent, with points increasing to 0.35 from 0.25 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 2.60 percent from 2.62 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.37 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
