MBA Mortgage Applications Move to 8-Year Low

Weekly mortgage applications in the United States declined in the week ending Feb. 6, according to data released from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported a 24.5% week-over-week decrease in applications.

In the previous week, applications were up 8.6%.

The portion of fixed-rate mortgages fell 24.8%, after rising 9.0% previously, while those opting for variable rates pulled back 10.2% after the previous week's 5.7% decrease.

Compared to last year, the market composite index fell 43.9%.

The average loan size was $224.7k, compared to previous week's $232.0k.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved down to 5.19% from 5.29%.

By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2009