by Calculated Risk on 3/02/2011 07:38:00 AM

The MBA reports: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Refinance Index decreased 6.5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6.1 percent from one week earlier.
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The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.84 percent from 5.00 percent, with points increasing to 1.30 from 0.96 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

This graph shows the MBA Purchase Index and four week moving average since 1990.

The four-week moving average of the purchase index is at 1997 levels - however there are have been a large percentage of cash buyers recently and cash buyers do not apply for a mortgage - still this suggests weak home sales through the first few months of 2011.