Mortgage Applications Increase 12.8% in Week

Mortgage applications increased 12.8% from one week earlier, which included the Thanksgiving holiday, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Dec. 2.

The refinance index increased 15.3%, and the purchase index increased 8.3%.

“Coming out of the Thanksgiving holiday, applications increased significantly as mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels in about two months,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.

“In particular, refinance applications increased sharply, with some lenders seeing refinance volume double,” he said. “Despite this surge, aggregate refinance activity is still below levels reported two weeks ago. Some lenders indicated they are beginning to see an increase in HARP loans, but that increase is still a small portion of the move this week.”

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