Mortgage Application Volume Up on Refinancing

Washington, DC, July 8, 2009--Mortgage application volume last week rose a seasonally adjusted 10.9% from the week before, reflecting an uptick in refinancings, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.

Applications to refinance existing home loans rebounded 15.2% for the week ended July 3, while applications for mortgages to purchase homes also increased, up a seasonally adjusted 6.7%, on a week-to-week basis, according to the MBA's survey. It was adjusted to account for the Independence Day holiday.

Total application volume was up an unadjusted 7.2% compared with the same week in 2008. The four-week moving average for all mortgages as tracked by the MBA was down a seasonally adjusted 5.6%.

Refinancing applications made up 48.4% of all mortgage activity, up from 46.4% the week before, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 4.4%, up from 4.3%.

According to the most recent survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages carried an average interest rate of 5.34% last week, unchanged from the week before.

Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.83% last week, up from 4.81% the week before; the mortgage required payment of an average 1.06 points to obtain the rate.