The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 20, 2009.
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped 15.1 percent compared to one week earlier, even after an adjustment to account for the shortened week due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, MBA said. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 22.6 percent compared with the previous week but increased 9.8 percent compared with the same week last year.

Based on MBA’s survey results, refinance applications also dropped last week. The Refinance Index decreased 19.1 percent from the week before, and the refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 69.7 percent of total applications, down from 74.2 percent the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2.6 percent, and the Conventional Purchase Index slid 4.4 percent. The Government Purchase Index, however, which is made up mostly of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, increased 0.8 percent.
According to MBA’s market data, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) increased to 5.07 percent, up from 4.99 percent the previous week. The average rate for 15-year FRMs increased to 4.71 percent from 4.66 percent.
The average interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) increased to 6.13 percent from 6.10 percent. The ARM share of loan activity increased to 1.9 percent from 1.7 percent of total applications the previous week.
MBA’s survey covers approximately 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.