by Calculated Risk on 2/23/2011 07:50:00 AM

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

The Refinance Index increased 17.8 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 5.1 percent from one week earlier.
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“Ongoing turmoil in the Middle East brought interest rates lower last week. Borrowers took advantage of these lower rates, bringing application activity back near levels from two weeks ago, following sharp declines last week,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics.
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The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.00 percent from 5.12 percent, with points increasing to 0.97 from 0.85 (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.

Even with the slight increase in activity last week, the four-week moving average of the purchase index is still at 1997 levels - suggesting weak home sales through the first few months of 2011.