Mortgage applications down, Sandy to blame
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 2, 2012, the volume of applications fell 5.0 percent from the previous week. The Refinance Index fell 5.0 percent, hitting its lowest level since the end of August, while the Purchase Index fell 5.0 percent, marking a 3.0 percent decrease from the same week in 2011.
“Last week’s storm had a significant impact on application volumes on the East Coast,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. “Applications fell more than 60 percent compared to the prior week in New Jersey, almost 50 percent in New York and nearly 40 percent in Connecticut. Other East Coast states also saw declines over the week, while many states in other parts of the country had increases in application volumes.”
Average mortgage contract rates
- The refinance share of mortgage activity remained constant at 80 percent of total applications from the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity was unchanged at 4 percent of total applications. The HARP share of refinance applications increased to 27 percent from 25 percent the prior week.
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.61 percent from 3.65 percent, with points increasing to 0.45 from 0.39 (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 3.88 percent from 3.94 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 0.36 (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 decreased to 3.37 percent from 3.41 percent, with points decreasing to 0.75 from 0.76 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 2.95 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.35 (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 2.61 percent from 2.66 percent, with points increasing to 0.41 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate decreased from last week.
