Adjusted Apps Creep Up

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 652.0 to 656.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Oct. 12, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications decreased 9.3% on the week but were up 0.7% from the level recorded a year earlier. The Purchase Index rose from 420.2 to 429.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 2003.2 to 1980.9. Refinancings represented 45.3% of total applications, down from 46.2% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 13.5%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was unchanged, at 6.40%, and points (including the origination fee) rose from 1.00 to 1.04 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the association reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.