by Calculated Risk on 2/20/2013 07:07:00 AM

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

The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier.
...
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 77 percent of total applications, the lowest level since May 2012, from 78 percent the previous week. 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 3.78 percent, the highest rate since August 2012, from 3.75 percent, with points decreasing to 0.40 from 0.43 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the refinance index.

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

There has been a sustained refinance boom, and 77 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.