Applications for mortgage loans for the week ending Feb. 6 were down 24.5 percent from the previous week and 43.9 percent from a year ago, with significant declines in both refinancings and purchase mortgages, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.
The association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed applications for refinancings fell 30.3 percent from a week ago, while applications for purchase loans were down 9.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. Applications for conventional purchase loans fell 11.1 percent, and applications for government-backed loans (largely FHA) were down 7 percent.
Applications for refinance loans made up 66.7 percent of all applications, down from 73.2 percent the week before. Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans accounted for 2.5 percent of applications, up from 2.1 percent the week before.
Applications were down despite easing rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, which decreased to an average of 5.19 percent from 5.28 percent, with points increasing from 1.12 to 1.2 for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5 percent from 5.15 percent, with points remaining unchanged at 1.21 for 80 percent LTV loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.22 percent from 6.09 percent, with points increasing to 0.22 from 0.07 for 80 percent LTV loans.
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