Applications for mortgage refinancings fell 30 percent last week to their lowest level since November, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.
The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 26 also showed a seasonally adjusted drop of 4.5 percent in purchase mortgage applications from the previous week.
Total mortgage applications — purchase and refinance — were down a seasonally adjusted 18.9 percent from the week before. Looking back a year, mortgage applications were down 7.4 percent on a non-adjusted basis.
Requests for refinancings made up 46.4 percent of applications, down from 54 percent the previous week.
The MBA recently lowered its forecast for 2009 mortgage originations by more than $700 billion, saying rising interest rates and a slow start to the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable loan program have put a damper on a boom in refinancings (see story).
Interest rates retreated some last week, but with no corresponding increase in demand for mortgages.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.34 percent from 5.44 percent, with points increasing to 1.12 from 0.99 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans, the MBA said.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.81 percent from 4.93 percent, with points increasing to 1.04 from 0.92 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.52 percent from 6.54 percent, with points increasing to 0.13 from 0.11 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.
***
What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.
