In addition to releasing data on mortgage application activity for the week ended November 8, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revised its numbers from the week ended November 1, erasing most of what had been a significant decline in volume.  Rather than a drop of 7.0 percent in the Market Composite Index, MBA said the Index had declined only 2.8 percent.  They did not provide information on how the internal numbers (purchasing, refinancing) were affected by the adjustment.   It was the first time in recent memory that MBA had issued a revision to its data.

Turning to the week ended November 8, MBA said the seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index decreased 1.8 percent and the unadjusted index lost 3.0 percent.  The Refinance Index decreased 2 percent from the previous week and refinance applications represented 66 percent of all applications, unchanged from the week before.

Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was 1 percent lower than the prior week and the unadjusted index was down 3 percent.  The unadjusted index was 6 percent below the level during the same week in 2012.

Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

Both contract and effective interest rates increased across the board.  The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) with conforming balances of $417,000 rose to 4.44 percent with .44 point from 4.32 percent with 0.42 percent.  The rate for 30-year FRM with jumbo balances (greater than $417,000) increased to 4.48 percent from 4.37 percent with points increasing to 0.34 from 0.26.  Rates for both conforming and jumbo versions of the 30-year FRM were the highest in a month.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased to 4.16 percent from 4.07 percent, with points increasing to 0.32 from 0.22.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.52 percent, the highest level in a month, from 3.44 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.30.

The average contract interest rate for 5/1 adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) increased to 3.11 percent from 3.08 percent, with points decreasing to 0.27 from 0.31.  The ARM share of activity increased to 7 percent of total applications.

All mortgage information is based on mortgages with 80 percent loan to value ratios and points include the origination fee.  MBA data is derived from a Weekly Mortgage Application Survey it has conducted since 1990 among mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.  Base period and value for all indexes is March 16, 1990=100.