The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 25, 2008 today. According to the survey, the Market Composite Index, which is a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 420.8, a 14.1 percent decrease on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 13.7 percent compared to the previous week and 30.3 percent compared to the same week a year earlier.

According to Reuters news agency, this week’s drop of 14.1 percent was the most severe decrease in mortgage applications since May and brought the level of new mortgage applications to the lowest level since December 2000.
The MBA also reported the following key statistics (percentage changes reflect comparison to the previous week):
Refinance Index: 1074.4, down 22.9 percent
Purchase Index = 309.5, a decrease of 7.8 percent
Conventional Purchase Index decreased 7.1 percent
Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) fell by 9.5 percent
Average contract interest rate for 20-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.46 percent from 6.59 percent
Average Average contract interest rate for 150year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.98 percent from 6.10 percent
Average contract interest rate for one-year ARMS increased to 7.25 percent from 7.16 percent
To view the full survey results, click here);/*1217437412131*/.