by Calculated Risk on 2/13/2013 10:04:00 AM

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Refinance Index decreased 6 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 10 percent from one week earlier.
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The refinance share of mortgage activity of total applications was unchanged at 78 percent from the previous week. The HARP share of refinance applications was unchanged from last week at 28 percent. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 4 percent of total applications.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased to 3.75 percent, the highest rate since September 2012, from 3.73 percent, with points unchanged at 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the refinance index.

The refinance activity is down over the last three weeks, but activity is still very high - and has remained high for over a year.

There has been a sustained refinance boom, and 78 percent of all mortgage applications are for refinancing.

The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index. The purchase index was off last week - and is still very low, but the index has generally been trending up over the last six months.

This index will probably continue to increase as conventional home purchase activity increases.