MBA Data Show Refi Apps Giving Back Some Gains

Mortgage applications tracked by the Mortgage Bankers Association during the week ended Feb. 20 dropped 15.1% from the previous week, as refinances gave back some recent gains. The 19.1% drop in the refi index that contributed to the larger decrease "partly erased an unexpectedly large (64%) pickup a week earlier" during the President's Day holiday-shortened week, according to Barclays Capital researchers. The researchers said seasonally purchase applications, which were down 2.6% week-to-week and have so far "failed to react to ... low mortgage rates," might reflect "prospective buyers ... reluctant to enter a declining market in advance of government action to revive the housing sector." Also noted by the MBA was a 22.6% unadjusted decline in overall apps for the week and a 9.8% unadjusted increase in apps overall during the same week a year ago. The four-week moving average for the seasonally adjusted index is up 0.4%. The conventional purchase index slid 4.4% week-to-week, while the Federal Housing Administration product dominated government purchase index inched down by 0.8%. Refinance market share dropped to 69.7% of total apps from 74.2% the previous week and adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity inched up to 1.9% from 1.7%. Average contract interest rates and points (including the origination fee) as tracked by the MBA during the period were as follows: 5.07%, up from 4.99%, for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, with points decreasing to 1.25 from 1.37; 4.71%, up from 4.66% for 15-year FRMs, with points dropped to 1.25 from 1.37; and 6.13%, up from 6.10% for one-year ARMs, with points declining to 0.21 from 0.23.