MBA Survey: Refinance Apps Increase

The ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org (MBA) released its ""Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/69638.htm Wednesday, which showed a resurge in refinances over new loan requests. After a lull last month, more homeowners are looking to lower their monthly payments by taking advantage of mortgage rates that have again started to fall to record-lows.
For the week ending July 10, 2009, MBA reported that total mortgage application volume increased 4.3 percent from one week earlier. Compared to the same week last year, though, home loan petitions are down 2.7 percent.
MBA’s Refinance Index jumped 17.7 percent on a week-to-week basis, and the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 54.9 percent of total applications, up from 48.4 percent the previous week. The boost in refinances offset a decline in applications for home purchases. MBA’s Purchase Index decreased 9.4 percent.
The association also reported that average contract interest rates last week dropped significantly for long-term loans, likely prompting the rise in refinance applications.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) fell from 5.34 percent to 5.05 percent in MBA’s study. Rates for 15-year FRMs averaged 4.59 percent last week, down from 4.83 percent the week before.