Mortgage Applications Jump From Prior Week

Mortgage applications rose last week after hitting an eight-year low the previous week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted mortgage applications index rose 16.8 percent from 408.1 the prior week to 476.6 last week. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 29.6 percent compared with the previous week, but was down 30 percent compared with the same week last year.

Much of the increase was in refinance applications, which rose 28.5 percent compared with the previous week. The index of conventional purchases rose only 7.9 percent.

Falling mortgage rates encouraged the increase in applications:

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.26 percent from 6.28 percent
• 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.01 percent from 6.05 percent
• 1-year ARMs decreased to 6.90 percent from 6.97 percent

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (10/29/2008)

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