by Calculated Risk on 3/16/2011 07:13:00 AM

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

The Refinance Index increased 0.9 percent from the previous week and is the highest Refinance Index recorded in the survey since December 2010. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 4.0 percent from one week earlier.
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The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.79 percent from 4.93 percent, with points increasing to 1.07 from 0.87 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. This is the lowest contract 30-year rate observed in the survey since the week ending January 14, 2011.

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 still at 1997 levels, and even with the large percentage of cash buyers recently, this still suggests fairly weak home sales through April. Note: Refinance activity has picked up a little with lower mortgage rates.