WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 15, 2006) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 10.  The Market Composite Index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume was 574.4 – a decrease of 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 575.6 one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 0.2 percent compared with the previous week but was down 20.4 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. 

The seasonally-adjusted Purchase Index increased by 1.0 percent to 403.0 from 399.0 the previous week whereas the Refinance Index decreased by 1.9 percent to 1583.6 from 1614.4 one week earlier. Other seasonally adjusted index activity includes the Conventional Index, which decreased 0.1 percent to 845.2 from 846.1 the previous week, and the Government Index, which decreased 1.4 percent to 122.8 from 124.6 the previous week.
 
The four week moving average for the seasonally-adjusted Market Index is up 0.1 percent to 575.3 from 574.9.  The four week moving average is up 0.5 percent to 401.9 from 400.1 for the Purchase Index while this average is down 0.3 percent to 1593.4 from 1599.0 for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.7 percent of total applications from 38.5 percent the previous week.  The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 28.8 percent of total applications from 27.9 percent the previous week. 

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.42 percent from 6.31 percent, with points decreasing to 1.14 from 1.22 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.  The 30-year fixed rate is at its highest level since July, 5, 2002 when it was 6.46 percent. 

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.06 percent from 5.97 percent, with points decreasing to 1.19 from 1.22 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 5.64 percent from 5.69 percent, with points remaining at 0.96 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. 

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation's residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand homeownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,400 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA's Web site:  www.mortgagebankers.org.