Mortgage Apps Fall in Week, but Higher Than '06

Washington, D.C., December 27, 2007— Mortgage applications fell 7.6 percent from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. However, it was up 9.9 percent compared to the same week a year ago.

The Refinance Index decreased 8.5 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6.6 percent.

The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index decreased 7.9 percent.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 53 percent of total applications from 53.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 10.4 from 9.9 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.10 percent from 6.18 percent, with points decreasing to 1.05 from 1.12 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.66 percent from 5.78 percent, with points decreasing to 1.09 from 1.10 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.03 percent from 6.48 percent, with points increasing to 1.01 from 0.95 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.