“Mortgage rates fell sharply to low levels not seen in six decades following the Federal Reserve’s announcement on the Treasury bond and mortgage-backed securities purchase programs.  The drop offered a sizable refinance incentive for most homeowners sparking a pickup in refinance activity,” said Orawin Velz, Associate Vice President of Economic Forecasting.

The Refinance Index increased 41.5 percent to 6363.2 from 4497.6 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 4.2 percent to 267.8 from 257.1 one week earlier.  The Conventional Purchase Index increased 3.9 percent while the Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) increased 4.6 percent.
 
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 13.9 percent.  The four week moving average is up 1.7 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 18.7 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 78.5 percent of total applications from 72.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 1.4 percent from 2.0 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.63 percent from 4.89 percent, with points decreasing to 1.13 from 1.23 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The contract rate is the lowest in the history of the survey, which began in 1990. 

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.48 percent from 4.52 percent, with points decreasing to 1.07 from 1.18 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.22 percent from 6.20 percent, with points increasing to 0.15 from 0.14 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

**SPECIAL NOTES**

The survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, 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.