MBA: Mortgage Refinance Applications decline sharply as Mortgage Rates Increase above 4%

From the MBA: Mortgage Applications Decrease as Rates Jump in Latest MBA Weekly Survey

The Refinance Index decreased 15 percent from the previous week and is at its lowest level since the end of November 2011. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier.
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The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) increased to 4.07 percent, the highest rate since April 2012, from 3.90 percent, with points decreasing to 0.35 from 0.39 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans. This was the largest single-week increase in this rate since the week ending July 1, 2011.
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Click on graph for larger image.

The first graph shows the refinance index.

With 30 year mortgage rates moving above 4%, refinance activity has fallen sharply.

This index is down almost 40% over the last four weeks, and this is the lowest level since November 2011.

The second graph shows the MBA mortgage purchase index.  The 4-week average of the purchase index has generally been trending up over the last year, and the 4-week average of the purchase index is up about 10% from a year ago.