by Calculated Risk on 3/18/2015 07:00:00 AM
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest Weekly Survey
From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey
Mortgage applications decreased 3.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 13, 2015. ...Click on graph for larger image.
The Refinance Index decreased 5 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier.
...
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,000 or less) decreased to 3.99 percent from 4.01 percent, with points increasing to 0.40 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
emphasis added
The first graph shows the refinance index.
2014 was the lowest year for refinance activity since year 2000.
2015 will probably see a little more refinance activity than in 2014, but not a large refinance boom.
The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.
According to the MBA, the unadjusted purchase index is 1% higher than a year ago.