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Mortgage purchasing applications surge on tax credit expiration: MBA

Buyers were out in force last week as the homebuyer tax credit expired, driving up mortgage purchasing application volume by another 13 percent compared to one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association for the week that ended April 30. It was the third week in a row that purchase applications rose and the highest purchase index recorded since Oct. 2, 2009. More than 50 percent of all purchase applications last week were for government-backed mortgages, which, according to Michael Fratantoni, the MBA's vice president of research and economics, is the highest rate in two decades. Refinancing application volume, meanwhile, dropped 2.1 percent week-over-week. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined to 5.02 percent from 5.08 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.34 percent, down from 4.38 percent one week earlier. TRD

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