by Calculated Risk on 10/27/2010 07:57:00 AM

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

The Refinance Index increased 3.0 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 3.9 percent from one week earlier.
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The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.25 percent from 4.34 percent, with points increasing to 1.0 from 0.81 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The 30-year contract rate matches the rate from the week ending October 1, 2010, which was the second lowest ever observed in this survey.

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

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

The four-week moving average of the purchase index is still 30% below the levels of April 2010, and is about at the levels of 1996. This suggests existing home sales will remain weak through the end of the year.