Mortgage App Activity Drops 2.1 Percent: MBA

Mortgage applications dipped last week as rates increased broadly across various mortgage products, according to a weekly survey released Wednesday by the Mortage Bankers Association. Total application volume fell to an index value of 1063.5 for the week ended February 8, down 2.1 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from one week earlier. Applications remained up 65 percent versus year-ago levels, the MBA said.

The application index is calibrated to March 16, 1990; a reading of 1063.9 means that application activity was roughly 10.6 times greater than when the index was first established.

This week’s fall reverses five straight weeks of reported gains in application activity to start 2008, driven initially by surging refinance interest among borrowers. As a result of previous gains, a four-week moving average of application activity remained up 3.9 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

All categories on loan applications trended downward, according to the MBA: purchase application activity fell .3 percent; refinance applications dropped 3 percent; conventional loan applications decreased 1.9 percent, while government applications (including FHA) fell 3.7 percent.

The adjustable-rate share of mortgage applications, however, rose from 8.8 percent one week earlier to 9.9 percent.

For more information, visit http://www.mortgagebankers.org.