Mortgage application volume increased 0.9% on an adjusted basis during the week ended March 9, with applications for purchases rising 3% and applications for refinances falling 2%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
On an unadjusted basis, total volume increased 2% compared with the previous week. Applications for purchases increased 5% on an unadjusted basis and were 3% higher compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for refinances represented 40.1% of total applications, down from 41.8% the previous week to reach the lowest level since September 2008.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 7.1% of total applications.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, based on closings, was 4.69%, up from 4.65%.
The average rate for a 5/1 ARM was 3.93%, up from 3.81% to reach the highest level since February 2011.