Mortgage Applications Rose Last Week

Washington, DC, September 19, 2007--The weekly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed a 2.4% increase in mortgage applications over the previous week. 

On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 26.6% compared with the previous week and was up 12.8% compared with the same week one year earlier.

The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index increased 4.6% the Purchase Index increased 0.9%.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 43.5% of total applications from 42% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 12.6% from 13.2% of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.29% from 6.25%, with points increasing to 1.02 from 1.00 (including the origination fee) for 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.99 from 5.90%, with points increasing to 1.09 from 1.03 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.39 from 6.34%, with points increasing to 0.95 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.