The market share for refinances must be considerably lower here in Oregon. Borrowers are really in a bind with shrinking equity and tougher loan underwriting.
Art Marine
Branch Manager
10220 SW Greenburg Road, Suite 250
Portland, OR 97223
503-764-4005 direct
503-799-7085 cell
1-866-510-4716 fax
art.marine@academymortgage.com
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 22, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 10.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10.1 percent compared with the previous week and decreased 19.8 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.
"Refinance activity fell substantially last week," said Michael Fratantoni, MBA's Vice President of Research and Economics. "Although rates remain low, there appears to be a smaller pool of borrowers who are willing and able to refinance at today's rates."
The Refinance Index decreased 15.1 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 2.8 percent compared with the previous week and was 4.5 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 2.6 percent. The four week moving average is up 1.3 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 2.8 percent for the Refinance Index.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 67.6 percent of total applications from 71.7 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 4.7 percent from 4.1 percent of total applications from the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.02 percent from 5.00 percent, with points decreasing to 1 from 1.05 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.34 percent from 4.33 percent, with points decreasing to 1.14 from 1.19 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.84 percent from 6.72 percent, with points increasing to 0.33 from 0.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
**SPECIAL NOTES**
The index values are no longer included in MBA's Weekly Applications Survey press release, only the percentage changes. If you would like to subscribe to MBA's Weekly Applications Survey, please contact MBA Research at (202) 557-2830 or mbaresearch@mortgagebankers.org or click here.
Media inquiries should be directed to Carolyn Kemp at (202) 557-2727 or ckemp@mortgagebankers.org.
The survey covers over 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.
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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,400 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA's Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org.
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