Mortgage Apps Increase Last Week

Washington, DC, December 12, 2007--Mortgage applications increase 2.5% last week, according to the weekly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Refinance Index increased 4.3% and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.7%.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 57.6% of total applications from 56.0% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 9.4 from 11.6% of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.07% from 5.82%, with points increasing to 1.17 from 1.07 (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 5.72% from 5.38%, with points decreasing to 1.01 from 1.12 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.31% from 6.28%, with points decreasing to 0.97 from 0.99 (including the origination fee) for 80% LTV loans.