Econintersect: Although the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 05, 2011 showed mortgage applications increased slightly (1.3%), overall mortgages remain at levels last seen in the late 1990’s.
Econintersect continues to warn that watching application data is no window into determining home sales as the amount of cash buyers is running at 29%.
The current volumes are easy to understand using the following graphic from Calculated Risk:
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.25%. The refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 79.1%.
source: MBA, Calculated Risk