by Calculated Risk on 5/01/2013 07:00:00 AM

From the MBA: Mortgage Refinance Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Refinance Index increased 3 percent from the previous week and is at its highest level since the week ending January 18, 2013. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1.4 percent from one week earlier.
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The HARP share of refinance applications increased from 32 percent last week to 34 percent this week, the highest level since MBA began tracking HARP applications in February 2012.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) decreased to 3.60 percent, the lowest rate since December 2012, from 3.65 percent, with points decreasing to 0.30 from 0.41 (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.

There has been a sustained refinance boom for over a year.

According to the MBA, the HARP program is contributing significantly to the current level of refis and is at the highest percentage of refinances since the MBA started tracking HARP.  Note: HARP is a success story.

The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.  The 4-week average of the purchase index has generally been trending up over the last year, and even with the slight decline in the weekly index, the 4-week average of the purchase index is at the highest level since May 2010.