Mortgage Bankers Association Sees Weekly Apps Decline

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index during the week ended Nov. 14 fell 6.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before as the purchase index component dropped to a level not seen since late 2000 but refinances increased. On an unadjusted basis the composite index dropped 7.2% compared to the previous week and was down 41.3% year-to-year. Refinances increased 2.6% from the previous week and seasonally adjusted purchases fell 12.6% from one week earlier. This brought the purchase index to a low not seen since December 2000, according to Barclays Capital researchers. Conventional purchases fell 15.3% week-to-week while government purchases (a category comprised primarily of Federal Housing Administration loans) fell 6.5% from the previous week. The four-week moving average for seasonally adjusted purchases is down 2.7%. This average rose 2.5% for refinances. Refis represented 49.9% of applications in the most recent week, up from 45.1% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity inched up to 2.6% from 2.3% the week before. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.16% from 6.24% the week previous. This rate for 15-year loans dropped to 5.87% from 5.90% the week before and for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages it rose to 6.80% from 6.77% from the week previous. For mortgages with an 80% loan-to-value ratio, points and fees (including the origination fee) increased over the course of the week to 1.24 from 1.17 and 1.12 for 30-year and 15-year mortgages, respectively. For ARMs with an 80% LTV, equivalent points and fees increased to 0.63 from 0.43.