by Calculated Risk on 10/19/2011 07:25:00 AM

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

The Refinance Index decreased 16.6 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 8.8 percent from one week earlier and is at the lowest level in the survey since December 1996.
...
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased to 4.33 percent from 4.25 percent, with points increasing to 0.48 from 0.47(including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. ...

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $417,500) increased to 4.64 percent from 4.59 percent, with points decreasing to 0.45 from 0.49 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

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

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

This was a sharp decrease in the purchase index, and the index is now at the lowest level since December 1996. This does not include cash buyers, but this suggests weaker home sales in November and December.