Mortgage Volume Up, Driven by Refinancing

From Realtor Magazine Online, Daily Real Estate News May 20, 2009

Mortgage applications increased last week, driven by refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly mortgage application survey.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index rose 2.3 percent last week to 915.9 from 895.6 the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was up 42 percent from the same week a year ago.

The refinance index increased 4.5 percent, while the seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased 4.4 percent. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 73.6 percent of total applications from 71.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent of total applications from the previous week.

Different categories of mortgage rates continued to decline:

* 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.69 percent 6.41 percent.
* 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.44 percent from 4.50 percent.
* 1-year ARMs decreased to 6.38 percent from 6.41 percent.

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (05/20/2009)