The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 25. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 8.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 8.3% compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 12.6% from the previous week and is the highest Refinance Index observed in the survey since the week ending May 22, 2009. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.3% from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.8% compared with the previous week and was 36% lower than the same week one year ago. "Amid continuing financial market volatility, mortgage rates dropped again last week, with rates on 15-year loans reaching a record low for the MBA survey. Refinance applications jumped in response but remain at about half the level seen in the spring of 2009," says Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics. "Purchase applications declined for the seventh time in the last eight weeks, keeping the purchase index near 13-year lows." The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 76.8% of total applications from 73.8% the previous week, which is the highest refinance share observed in the survey since April 2009. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 4.7% from 4.9% of total applications from the previous week. SOURCE: [link=http://mortgagebankers.org/NewsandMedia/PressCenter/73294.htm]Mortgage Bankers Association[/link]