Weekly Mortgage Volumes on the Rise

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch

RISMEDIA, June 14, 2007-(MarketWatch)-Mortgage application volumes rose last week by a seasonally adjusted 6.6% compared with the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly survey released Wednesday.

In the face of higher interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages, application volumes were up 16.1% compared with the same week in 2006.

Both refinancings of existing mortgages and mortgages to purchase homes were up during the week ending June 8, with refinance higher by 5.6% from the prior week and purchase volumes rising 7.2%.

The four-week moving average for all mortgages was down 0.3%, according to the survey.

The refinance share of mortgages remained unchanged from the previous week at 38% of all applications. Adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 18.7% of all applications, up from 17.8% the previous week.

Interest rates on fixed-rate loans jumped again last week, the MBA’s data showed.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 6.61% from 6.35% the week before. Similarly, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged a 6.28% interest rate, up from 6.13% the week before.

The rate on one-year ARMs, however, moved in the other direction, averaging 5.48% for the week, down from 5.74%.

The MBA’s survey covers about half of all of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations.

Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.