The Refinance Index decreased 6.4 percent to 1806.3 from 1929.6 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5.0 percent to 441.5 from 464.9 one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index decreased 6.6 percent to 467.5 from 500.4 the previous week.  The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index decreased 5.7 percent to 932.0 from 987.9 the previous week, and the seasonally adjusted Government Index decreased 4.4 percent to 156.0 from 163.2 the previous week.
 
“Given the current turmoil in the mortgage market, week-to-week changes in the purchase applications index should be treated with a certain degree of caution.  For example, the sudden exit of a major originator several weeks ago may have led to a bump up in applications over the last two weeks as those borrowers caught in the shutdown reapplied for mortgages at other institutions.  The drop in applications we see here may be an indication that those borrowers have now been taken care of,” said Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics.

The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 1.3 percent to 645.8 from 637.8.  The four week moving average is up 1.0 percent to 442.6 from 438.3 for the Purchase Index, while this average is up 1.6 percent to 1835.3 from 1806.9 for the Refinance Index.

The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 39.9 percent of total applications. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 18.6 from 21.0 percent of total applications from the previous week.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.49 percent from 6.45 percent, with points decreasing to 1.48 from 1.54 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.20 from 6.19 percent, with points decreasing to 1.10 from 1.16 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 5.84 from 5.81 percent, with points decreasing to 1.05 from 1.11 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.

**SPECIAL NOTES**

The survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.  Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.  Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.

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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.