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--Barry Asmus

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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

MBA Weekly Applications Survey

Once again, it's time for the Mortgage Bankers Association to bring us up to speed on the week's mortgage application activity.  Last week, as you may recall, the situation had improved nicely.  The Market Composite Index was up 4.0%, mostly driven by refinance activity (the Refinance Index was up 6.0%, while the Purchase Index only increased 0.3%).  Refinancing also accounted for 62.7% of total applications, and adjustable-rate mortgages[1] accounted for 6.7% of mortgage activity.  Finally, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.75%.
 
Now, turning to the report for the week ending 5/6, we see that things have improved further.  The Market Composite Index increased 8.2%, driven by an increase in both the Refinance Index (up 9.0%) and the Purchase Index (up 6.7%).  Refinancing activity increased to 63.1% of total applications, and adjustable-rate mortgages slipped to 6.5% of total applications.  Finally, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.67%.
 
[1]  Remember those?
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