Refinance Applications Hit Low Not Seen Since Late October

Applications to refinance mortgages hit their lowest market share since the end of October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Market Composite Index for the week of March 19. The MCI, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 4.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index decreased 3.9% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 7.1% from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2.7% from one week earlier. The market share of refi applications fell to 65% for the survey period, down from 67.3% during the previous week. On the other hand, the market share of adjustable-rate mortgage applications is back at 4.8%, up from 4.6% for the previous week. The average contract interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has been bouncing back and forth around the 5% mark in recent weeks. For the most recent week, the index is again at 5.01%, up 10 basis points from the previous week's 4.91%, with points declining to 0.76 from 1.30 (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 increased by 9 bps to 4.33%. The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs was unchanged at 6.75%.