Refinances are up

While doing loans in Hemet, CA we have experienced an increase in volume of refinance mortgages. Even though values remain constantly strained by perpetual foreclosures some people have enough equity to succesfully complete a refinance transaction. Rates have been close to all time lows for a long enough period of time for the word to get out and for our customers to react. I still have more clients in Van Nuys then in Hemet but either way the phone is starting to ring. This came out today on MortgageNewsDaily.com.



The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 14.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 15.5 percent compared with the previous week. The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 0.4 percent

The Refinance Index increased 17.2 percent from the previous week. The four week moving average is up 1.8 percent for the Refinance Index. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 69.1 percent of total applications from 68.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 4.8 percent from 4.7 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 9.0 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 11.7 percent compared with the previous week and was 9.8 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The four week moving average is down 2.7 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.95 percent from 5.03 percent, with points decreasing to 0.99 from 1.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans. The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.27 percent from 4.35 percent, with points increasing to 1.36 from 1.31 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. This is the lowest 15-year fixed-rate observed in the survey since the week ending November 27, 2009. The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.77 percent from 6.80 percent, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics said:


“Mortgage applications rebounded last week, particularly refis, as rates dropped back below 5 percent.... Purchase activity remains subdued, with application volumes remaining within the narrow range seen in the last few months.

Information provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association as reported on Mortgage News Daily.