Mortgage Refinance Applications Decline in MBA Latest Survey

June 7, 2006

Results of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 2 found the Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 534.4, a decrease of 1.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 541.9 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 11.7 percent compared with the previous week and was down 28.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. 

The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index increased slightly to 395.6 from 395.5 the previous week whereas the Refinance Index decreased by 3.8 percent to 1356.0 from 1409.0 one week earlier. Other than a brief dip in December 2005, the Refinance Index is at its lowest level since April 2002. Other seasonally adjusted index activity includes the Conventional Index, which decreased 1.5 percent to 788.1 from 799.7 the previous week, and the Government Index, which decreased 0.4 percent to 111.5 from 111.9 the previous week.

The four week moving average for the seasonally-adjusted Market Index is down 1.2 percent to 554.2 from 561.2. The four week moving average is down 1.3 percent to 403.6 from 408.8 for the Purchase Index, while this average is down 1.2 percent to 1448.1 from 1465.9 for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 34.2 percent of total applications from 34.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 29.4 percent of total applications from 30.7 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.60 percent from 6.66 percent, with points increasing to 1.19 from 1.03 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. 

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.23 percent from 6.22 percent, with points decreasing to 1.16 from 1.18 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.05 percent from 6.09 percent, with points increasing to 0.86 from 0.83 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

Source: MBA


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