RateAPY

Weekly Mortgage Survey Shows Refinances and Fixed-Rate Mortgages Dominant

Posted by: RateAPY Bank Rates News
September 22nd, 2009

A weekly survey of mortgage rates by the Mortgage Bankers Association provides an interesting snapshot of the mortgage market. While this survey reports average rates for purchases and refinancing as opposed to the most favorable current mortgage rates, it reveals general trends of the market.

During the week of September 7, the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 61% of total applications, a slight uptick from the previous week.

Fixed-rate loans rule the mortgage market these days, with adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) representing just 6% of total mortgage applications. It is easy to see why fixed-rate loans are more popular right now. For 80% loan-to-value mortgages, the average interest rate for a 1-year ARM was 6.61% with 0.20 points, significantly higher than average rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (5.08% with 0.98 points) or 15-year fixed-rate mortgages (4.41% with 1.12 points).