Mortgage Applications Fall Again MBA Weekly Survey

MBA (8/20/2008 ) Kemp, Carolyn
Mortgage application activity fell for the second consecutive week, despite falling interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 15.
The Market Composite Index fell to 419.3, a decrease of 1.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 425.9 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 2.6 percent compared with the previous week and fell by 34.2 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The four-week moving average fell by 4.0 percent.

The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index decreased by 3.7 percent to 1034.5 from previous week. The four-week moving average fell by 7.7 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 34.8 percent of total applications from 35.2 percent the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 0.4 percent to 314.0 from one week earlier. The Conventional Purchase Index decreased by 0.7 percent while the Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) increased by 0.2 percent. The four-week moving average fell by 1.7 percent.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.47 percent from 6.57 percent, with points decreasing to 1.10 from 1.14 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.99 percent from 6.17 percent, with points increasing to 1.18 from 1.06 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages decreased to 7.07 percent from 7.15 percent, with points increasing to 0.42 from 0.38 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The ARM share of activity increased to 8.0 percent from 7.3 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.