Mortgage Applications Fall, But Higher Than '08

Washington, DC, Jan. 7, 2009--Mortgage applications filed last week fell 8.2% from the previous week on lower refinancing activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Unadjusted, applications for the week ended Jan. 2 were up 28.3% compared with the same week last year but were down 8.9% on a week-to-week basis, according to the Washington-based MBA's weekly application survey.

Refinancing applications dropped 12.3% last week from the week before, while the volume of applications for mortgages to purchase homes increased a seasonally adjusted 7.3%.

Refinancings made up 79.8% of all applications filed last week, down from 82.9% the previous week. Adjustable-rate mortgage activity rose slightly, accounting for 0.9% of all applications as opposed to 0.8% the week before.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.07% last week, up from 5.03% the previous week.

Fifteen-year fixed-rate mortgages, however, carried an average rate of 4.67%, down from 4.79%. One-year ARMs also fell, averaging 5.90% last week as opposed to the prior week's 6.15%.