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Mortgage Applications Survey At a Glance Adjusted seasonally

Market Composite Index: 796.8 Change: Down 7.1% Purchase Index: 298.1 Change: Down 17.4% Refinance Index: 3767.3 Change: Down 0.9% 4-Week Moving Average: Up 17.8% 30-year Fixed Rate: 5.45% with 1.23 points

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 10, 2008) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 5, 2008.  The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 796.8, a decrease of 7.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 857.7 one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 32.7 percent compared with the previous week and was up 2.2 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. Most categories of the survey declined from the previous week’s results, which were adjusted to account for the shortened week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The Refinance Index decreased 0.9 percent to 3767.3 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 17.4 percent to 298.1 from one week earlier. The Conventional Purchase Index decreased 15.5 percent while the Government Purchase Index (largely FHA) decreased 21.3 percent.   The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 17.8 percent.  The four week moving average is up 1.2 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 33.2 percent for the Refinance Index. The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 73.7 percent of total applications from 69.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 1.1 percent from 1.4 percent of total applications from the previous week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.45 percent from 5.47 percent, with points increasing to 1.23 from 1.16 (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 5.09 percent from 5.13 percent, with points decreasing to 1.26 from 1.28 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs increased to 6.76 percent from 6.61 percent, with points decreasing to 0.26 from 0.52 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans. Source: Mortgage Bankers Association