By Inman News, Wednesday, March 3, 2010

dip in mortgage rates during the week ending Feb. 26 was accompanied by a 14.6 percent surge in demand for loans, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in releasing its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Demand for refinancings was up 17.2 percent from the previous week, and purchase loan applications were up a seasonally adjusted 9 percent. 

Requests for refinancings accounted for 69.1 percent of all applications. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics, said demand for purchase loans remained “subdued,” with application volumes within the narrow range seen in the last few months.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.95 percent from 5.03 percent. Points decreased to 0.99 from 1.34 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value (LTV) ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 4.27 percent from 4.35 percent, with points increasing to 1.36 from 1.31 for 80 percent LTV loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans decreased to 6.77 percent from 6.8 percent, with points decreasing to 0.29 from 0.33 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent LTV loans.