MBA Survey: Mortgage Apps Increase Again

The ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org (MBA) released its ""Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey"":http://www.mbaa.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/69699.htm Wednesday, which showed an increase in home loan requests for the third week in a row.
For the week ending July 17, 2009, MBA reported that total mortgage application volume rose 2.8 percent from one week earlier. Based on the association’s market data, home loan petitions are 6.6 percent compared with the same period a year ago.
MBA’s Purchase Index increased 1.3 percent for the week. The Refinance Index jumped 4.0 percent, with the refinance share of mortgage activity now comprising 55.5 percent of total applications.
The association also reported average contract interest rates for applications submitted last week, and they rose for every loan product in MBA’s study, which could put a damper on activity going forward. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) loan increased to 5.31 percent, up significantly from 5.05 percent the week before.
For 15-year FRMs, the average interest rate increased to 4.80 percent. The week before, it was reported at 4.59 percent. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also rose, from 6.47 percent to 6.50 percent.