MBA Application Index Rises Week to Week

The Mortgage Bankers Association Market Composite Index increased 4.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended July 31 when compared with the previous week. The MCI is calculated from the MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey; starting with this week's release, the group no longer discloses specific application values. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 4.1% when compared with the previous week and 18% when compared with the same week one year earlier. The Refinance Index increased 7.2% from the previous week. MBA noted this index has increased 35% since hitting its recent low at the end of June. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.9% from one week earlier. The index has experienced little change over the last three weeks, MBA said. The share of refinancing applications increased to 54.2% of total applications, up from 52.6% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 5.4% from 5.5% of total applications the previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.17% from 5.36%, with points increasing to 1.02 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for mortgages with an 80% loan-to-value ratio, according to the association. The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs declined 15 basis points to 4.6%, while for one-year adjustable-rate loans, it increased by 1 basis point to 6.67%. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.