Mortgage Loan Applications Up In Latest MBA Survey

January 23, 2002

Refinance Activity Increases From Previous Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 23) The market composite index of mortgage loan applications-a measure of loan purchases and refinances-for the week ending January 18 increased 24.4 percent to 723.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 581.7 the previous week, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey of the Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), which was released today. On an unadjusted basis, the application index increased 29.3 percent and was up 35.4 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.

The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased to 371.8 from 348.6 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance Index increased to 2768.3 from 1937.6 the previous week. Other seasonally adjusted index activity included the Conventional Index, which increased to 972.6 from 775.3 the previous week, and the Government Index, which increased to 307.3 from 258.8 the previous week.

Refinancing activity represented 59.9 percent of total applications, increasing from 54.3 percent the previous week. The share of ARM activity decreased to 14.6 percent from 15.6 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for30-year fixed rate mortgages was 6.92 percent, increasing from a revised 6.69 percent the previous week, with points increasing slightly to 1.35 from a revised 1.34 the previous week (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for15-year fixed rate mortgages was 6.34 percent, increasing from a revised 6.20 percent the previous week, with points increasing to 1.30 from a revised 1.25 the previous week (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for1-year ARMs was 5.26 percent, increasing from a revised 5.10 percent the previous week, with points decreasing to 1.07 from a revised 1.12 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association of America


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