The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index decreased by 5.5 percent to 375.9 from 397.9 the previous week and the Refinance Index decreased by 4.1 percent to 1677.5 from 1748.7 one week earlier. The Purchase Index is at its lowest level since November 2003. Other seasonally adjusted index activity includes the Conventional Index, which decreased by 5 percent to 840 from 884.6 the previous week, and the Government Index, which decreased 3.3 percent to 110.5 from 114.3 the previous week.
 
The four week moving average for the seasonally-adjusted Market Index is up 0.4 percent to 578.2 from 575.7.  The four week moving average is unchanged at 393.4 for the Purchase Index, while this average is up 1 percent to 1654.5 from 1637.4 for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 44.3 percent of total applications from 43.7 percent the previous week. This is the highest that the refinance share has been since September 2005. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 26.4 percent of total applications from 27 percent the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.18 percent from 6.36 percent, with points decreasing to 1.06 from 1.11 (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 5.81 percent from 6.04 percent, with points increasing to 1.12 from 1.06 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 5.90 percent from 5.95 percent, with points increasing to 0.79 from 0.77 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The spread between the 30-year fixed rate and the one-year ARM rate is 28 basis points, the narrowest it has been since January 2001.

**SPECIAL NOTES**

The survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.  Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,200 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA's Web site:  www.mortgagebankers.org.