Mortgage Apps Up 11 Percent

The ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org (MBA) today released its ""Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/68070.htm for the week ending March 6, 2009.
MBA's study, which covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, showed that mortgage loan application volume increased 11.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 11.6 percent compared with the previous week and 5.7 percent compared with the same week last year.
The volume of refinance applications increased 13.3 percent from the previous week. MBA reported that the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 67.9 percent of total applications, up one percentage point from the week before.
Based on MBA's survey, the Purchase Index increased 7.1 percent, the Conventional Purchase Index was up 5.4 percent, and the Government Purchase Index (made up largely of Federal Housing Authority loans) increased 10.4 percent.
MBA's study also documents average mortgage interest rates. The association reported the rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) decreased to 4.96 percent (1.16 in fees and points), down from 5.14 percent (1.05 in fees and points) the week before. MBA said that this contract rate is the second lowest in the history of the survey, with the record low being 4.89 percent for the week ending January 9, 2009.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year FRMs also dropped, to a level of 4.54 percent (1.2 in fees and points). The week before, the 15-year FRM averaged 4.73 percent (1.13 in fees and points).
The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs), however, increased, jumping from 6.13 (0.18 in fees and points) to 6.21 percent (0.16 in fees and points). MBA reported that the ARM share of activity last week was unchanged at 2.3 percent of total applications.