Harvey Realty, Inc.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 15.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Jan. 9 compared with 1143.8 one week earlier, when it stood at 1324.8, according to a report released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 95.7 percent for the week ending Jan. 9 compared with the previous week and was up 52.4 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

The Refinance Index increased 25.6 percent to 7414.1 for the week ending Jan. 9 from 5904.5 the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 14.1 percent to 295.8 for the week ending Jan. 9 compared with 344.2 one week earlier. The Refinance Index is at its highest level since June 2003.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 85.3 percent of total applications for the week ending Jan. 9 compared with 79.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 1.1 percent for the week ending Jan. 9 from 0.9 percent of total applications from the previous week, according to the report.

Printed by permission of the California Association of Realtors.