Fixed Mortgage Rates Decrease In Latest MBA Survey

October 30, 2002

Mortgage Applications Remain Very Strong

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 30, 2002) The Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications -- a measure of mortgage loan applications for purchases and refinancings -- for the week ending October 25 decreased 19.3 percent to 911.0 on a seasonally-adjusted basis from 1128.3 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 Index decreased 10.6 percent but was up 7.7 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.

The MBA seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased to 338.6 from 361.5 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index decreased to 4240.4 from 5588.7 the previous week. Last week marked the fourteenth consecutive week that the Refinance Index has been above 4000, and the Refinance Index was above 5000 for ten of those fourteen weeks. Other seasonally adjusted index activity included the Conventional Index, which decreased to 1312.2 from 1631.6 the previous week. The Government Index decreased to 241.3 from 288.4 the previous week.

Refinancing activity represented 69.2 percent of total applications, decreasing from 73.4 percent the previous week. The share of ARM activity increased to 15.2 percent from 13.9 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for30-year fixed rate mortgages decreased to 6.01 percent from 6.21 percent the previous week, with points increasing to 1.55 from 1.37 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 decreased to 5.39 percentfrom 5.63 percent the previous week, with points remaining the same as the previous week at 1.36 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 1-year ARMs was 4.01 percent,decreasing from 4.16 percent the previous week, with points increasing slightly to 1.10 from 1.09 the previous week (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association


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