Mortgage Applications Up 2.1%

During the week of Nov. 27, which was shortened due to Thanksgiving, the Mortgage Bankers Association Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found its Market Composite Index increased 2.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — decreased 29.3% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 1.7% from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 4.1% from one week earlier. These results included an adjustment to account for the Thanksgiving holiday. The share of refinance activity increased to 72.1% of total applications, up from 71.7% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity decreased to 4.8% from 5.3%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to its lowest point since May of this year, going to 4.79% from 4.82%, with points decreasing to 1.00 from 1.19 (including the origination fee) for loans with an 80% percent loan-to-value ratio, the association reported. The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs has reached its lowest point ever for this survey, declining by 5 basis points, to 4.27%. Since the week of Nov. 6, that rate had been stable at 4.32%. For one-year adjustable rate loans, rates decreased by 10 BP to 6.56%.