Mortgage application volume hits 2008 low
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
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NEW YORK — Mortgage application volume tumbled 14.1 percent during the week ending July 25, hitting its lowest level of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey.
Volume fell even though interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages retreated from sharp increases a week earlier.
Refinance volume plunged 22.9 percent during the week, while purchase application volume fell 7.8 percent. Refinance applications accounted for 35.2 percent of total application volume during the week.
The overall application index fell to 420.8 from 489.6 a week earlier.
An index value of 100 is equal to the application volume on March 16, 1990, the first week the MBA tracked such data. The index peaked at 1,856.7 during the week ending May 30, 2003, at the height of the housing boom.
The survey provides a snapshot of mortgage lending activity among mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. It covers about 50 percent of all residential retail mortgage originations each week.
The average rate for traditional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.46 percent from 6.59 percent during the previous week. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages _ often a popular option for refinancing a home _ fell to 5.98 percent from 6.10 percent.
The average rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages rose to 7.25 percent from 7.16 percent a week earlier.
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