March 10, 2011 (RISMedia) ortgage applications increased 15.5% from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 4, 2011.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 15.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 16.1% compared with the previous week. The previous week did not include a holiday adjustment for Presidents’ Day. The Refinance Index increased 17.2% from the previous week and was the highest Refinance Index observed since the week ending January 14, 2011. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 12.5% from one week earlier and was the highest Purchase Index recorded this year. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 14.3% compared with the previous week and was 14.3% lower than the same week one year ago.
Michael Frantantoni
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 2.7%. The four week moving average is up 1.2% for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 3.6% for the Refinance Index.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 65.5% of total applications from 64.9%the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.0% from 5.5% of total applications from the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.93% from 4.84%, with points decreasing to 0.87 from 1.29 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The effective rate also increased from last week.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged at 4.17%, with points increasing to 1.15 from 1.07 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The effective rate increased from last week.
For more information, visit www.mortgagebankers.org.
