Mortgage Refinance Applications Increase Sharply as Rates Continue to Drop, But Purchases Continue to Decline in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 25, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 8.3 percent compared with the previous week.
- The Refinance Index increased 12.6 percent from the previous week and is the highest Refinance Index observed in the survey since May, 2009.
- The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.3 percent from one week earlier.
- The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.8 percent compared with the previous week and was 36.0 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
“Amid continuing financial market volatility, mortgage rates dropped again last week, with rates on 15-year loans reaching a record low for the MBA survey. Refinance applications jumped in response, but remain at about half the level seen in the spring of 2009,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. “Purchase applications declined for the seventh time in the last eight weeks, keeping the purchase index near 13-year lows.”
- The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.67 percent from 4.75 percent,
- The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.06 percent from 4.19 percent
- The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs was unchanged at 7.05 percent
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