MBA: Mortgage Applications Rose 5.5% Last Week

By Amy Hoak

RISMEDIA, Sept. 14, 2007-(MarketWatch)-Volumes of mortgage applications filed last week were up a seasonally adjusted 5.5% as interest rates on loans to buy homes decreased, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.

Applications in the week ended Sept. 7 were up 0.1% compared with the same week a year ago, the Washington-based MBA’s latest survey showed.

Applications for loans to refinance an existing mortgage were up 6% on a week-to-week basis, while purchase applications were up a seasonally adjusted 5.2%. Both measures were adjusted for the Labor Day holiday.

The four-week moving average for all loans was down 0.8%, the MBA said.

Refinancings accounted for 42.1% all applications last week, up from 41.4% the previous week. Applications for adjustable-rate mortgages made up 13.2% of overall applications, up from 12.6% the previous week.

Interest rates were broadly lower.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.25% last week, compared with 6.42% the previous week. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.9%, down from 6.10%.

One-year ARMs averaged 6.34% last week, down from 6.52% the week before.

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

Amy Hoak is a MarketWatch reporter based in Chicago.

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