| Title: | Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Survey |
| Source: | MBA |
| Date: | 2/14/2007 |
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 14, 2007) - The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February
9. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 639.8, an increase of 1.5 percent on a
seasonally adjusted basis from 630.1 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.5 percent compared with
the previous week and was up 10.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
The Refinance Index increased 4.5 percent to 2031.7 from 1943.4 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index
decreased 1 percent to 400.7 from 404.7 one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index increased 1.8 percent
to 954.3 from 937.2 the previous week, and the seasonally adjusted Government Index decreased 2.2 percent to 115.4 from 118
the previous week.
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is down 1.1 percent to 628.1 from 634.9. The four week
moving average is down 2.4 percent to 404 from 413.8 for the Purchase Index, while this average is down 0.2 percent to 1941
from 1944.6 for the Refinance Index.
The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 46.1 percent of total applications. The adjustable-rate mortgage
(ARM) share of activity decreased to 21.2 from 22.3 percent of total applications from the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.24 percent from 6.23 percent, with points decreasing to 1.06 from 1.09 (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 5.94 from 5.96 percent, with points increasing to 1.13 from 1.1 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 5.8 from 5.84 percent, with points increasing to 0.84 from 0.78 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
**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 2,400 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.