EconoIndicators

Mortgage Applications Survey At a Glance
Adjusted seasonally

• Market Composite Index: 398.6
• Change: Down 6.2%
• Purchase Index: 248.5
• Change: Down 12.6%
• Refinance Index: 1281.2
• Change: Up 2.6%
• 4-Week Moving Average: Down 2.7%
• 30-year Fixed Rate: 6.16% with 1.24 points

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Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 19, 2008) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending November 14, 2008.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 398.6, a decrease of 6.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 425.0 one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 7.2 percent compared with the previous week and was down 41.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
The Refinance Index increased 2.6 percent to 1281.2 from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 12.6 percent to 248.5 from one week earlier.  The Conventional Purchase Index decreased 15.3 percent while the Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) decreased 6.5 percent.
 
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index is down 2.7 percent, while this average is up 2.5 percent for the Refinance Index.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 49.9 percent of total applications from 45.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 2.6 percent from 2.3 percent of total applications from the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.16 percent from 6.24 percent, with points increasing to 1.24 from 1.17 (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 5.87 percent from 5.90 percent, with points increasing to 1.24 from 1.12 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.80 percent from 6.77 percent, with points increasing to 0.63 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association