Adjusted Apps Rise 5.5%

Mortgage applications rose 5.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Oct. 31, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's weekly Mortgage Application Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 4.7% on the week and down 34.3% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index increased 11.1% to 404.3 from 363.9 the previous week; the Refinancing Index inched up 0.3% to 2319.8 from 2311.8; the Conventional Index climbed 5.5% to 957.8 from 907.5; and the Government Index was up 4.9%, having risen to 230.3 from 219.5. Refinancings represented 51.1% of total applications, down from 53.3% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 25.4%, down from 26.5% a week earlier. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was 5.85%, up from 5.83% the previous week, while points (including the origination fee) increased to 1.47 from 1.39 for mortgages that had an 80% loan-to-value ratio, the MBA reported. The average contract rate for 15-year FRMs rose to 5.17% from 5.12% a week earlier and points (including the origination fee) for mortgages in this category that had an 80% LTV ratio fell to 1.40 from 1.51 the previous week. The average contract rate for one-year ARMs edged up to 3.58% from 3.57% one week earlier and points (including the origination fee) for mortgages in this category that had an 80% LTV ratio slipped to 1.10 from 1.13 the previous week. The MBA's website address is http://www.mbaa.org.