Mortgage Application Volume Surges Higher

Washington, DC, Dec. 7, 2011 -- Mortgage application volume rose last week as interest rates continued to fall, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

MBA said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, spiked 12.8% in the week Dec 2.

The index of refinancing applications rose 15.3%, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases rose 8.3%.

"Applications increased significantly as mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels in about two months," Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a press release.

"In particular, refinance applications increased sharply, with some lenders seeing refinance volume double. Despite this surge, aggregate refinance activity is still below levels reported two weeks ago."

The refinance share of total mortgage activity was up to 76.0% of applications from 73.9% the week before.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.18%, down from 4.21% the week before.