Mortgage Applications Recover Following Hurricane Sandy

By Stevie Duffin Updated on 12/14/2012

By Daniel Duffield

Mortgage activity has rebounded for the week ending on November 9 as states impacted by Hurricane Sandy in late October managed to return to normal routines. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, a gauge of mortgage application volume, rose 12.6% with seasonal adjustments and 12% with no adjustments during the week ending on November 2.

Borrower application for both home refinance and home purchase rose. In terms of the former, the Refinancing Index jumped 13% after five straight weeks of persistent decreases, and the share of total mortgage applications for refinancing increased to 81% from 80% the week prior. In addition, the seasonally adjusted Purchase index rose 11% from a week earlier, and the unadjusted Purchase Index rose 8% from the previous week, up 22% from the same week the previous year.

According to Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics, many East Coast states that were impacted by the superstorm Sandy recovered notably after two weeks of mortgage application declines. In New Jersey, applications more than doubled during the week, while the volme in Connecticut and New York rose a noticeable 60%. Simultaneously, during the rebound of these affected states, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged at a new record low for the MBA survey.