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Mortgage rates dip to a 16-month low

Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed rate loan fell to 4.08 percent since last week, the lowest in nearly a year and a half. In addition to falling mortgage rates, the the purchase application volume decreased 1 percent and the refinance application volume increased 11 percent over the same period.

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This chart shows the average interest rates for 15- and 30-year fixed rates since 2006. Mortgage rates fell to a 16-month low last week.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) publishes the results of a weekly applications survey that covers roughly 50 percent of all residential mortgage originations and tracks the average interest rate for 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgages as well as the volume of both purchase and refinance applications. 

The purchase application index has been highlighted as a particularly important data series as it very broadly captures the demand side of residential real estate for both new and existing home purchases. 

The latest data is showing that the average rate for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage (from FHA and conforming GSE data) decreased 9 basis points to 4.08% since last week while the purchase application volume decresed 1% and the refinance application volume increased 11% over the same period. 

The following chart shows the average interest rate for 30 year and 15 year fixed rate mortgages since 2006 as well as the purchase, refinance and composite loan volumes. 

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