The Refinance Index decreased 2.1 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 13.0 percent from one week earlier.  This is the third consecutive weekly increase in purchase applications and the highest Purchase Index recorded in the survey since the week ending October 2, 2009. The Conventional Purchase Index increased 9.4 percent from the previous week while the Government Purchase Index increased 16.7 percent. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 14.1 percent compared with the previous week and was 10.3 percent higher than the same period one year ago.

"Purchase application activity continued to increase in the last week of the homebuyer tax credit program," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics.  "Purchase applications were up 13 percent over the previous week and almost 24 percent over the last month, driven by significant increases in both conventional and government purchase applications. We also saw the Government share of applications for purchasing a home increase to over 50 percent of all purchase applications last week, which is the highest in two decades."
 
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 0.9 percent.  The four week moving average is up 5.0 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is down 1.5 percent for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 51.9 percent of total applications from 55.7 percent the previous week. This is the lowest refinance share observed in the survey since the week ending July 3, 2009. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.3 percent from 6.0 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.02 percent from 5.08 percent, with points increasing to 0.92 from 0.91 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.  The effective rate decreased five basis points from last week.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.34 percent from 4.38 percent, with points decreasing to 0.80 from 0.93 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.  The effective rate decreased six basis points from last week.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs remained unchanged at 7.03 percent, with points decreasing to 0.28 from 0.30 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

If you would like to subscribe to MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey, please contact MBA Research at (202) 557-2830 or mbaresearch@mortgagebankers.org or click here.

Media inquiries should be directed to Carolyn Kemp at (202) 557-2727 or ckemp@mortgagebankers.org.

The survey covers over 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.