Mortgage apps rise nearly 18 percent

Mortgage application volume rose 17.7 percent this week compared to one week earlier, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. That uptick in application volume was driven by a 21.1 percent increase in refinancing applications, which this week reached their highest volume since May 2009, according to the MBA report. Refinancing accounted for 74.8 percent of mortgage activity, up from 72.2 percent one week ago. Purchasing applications rose 7.3 percent week-over-week in their first increase since six weeks ago. “While it is clear that purchase applications in May dropped sharply as a result of the tax credit induced increase in applications in April, it is unclear whether we are seeing the beginnings of a rebound now,” said Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics for the MBA. Meanwhile, the average contract interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased slightly to 4.82 percent from 4.81 percent last week, but points decreased to 0.89 from 1.02, lowering the effective rate week-over-week. TRD