Adjusted Apps Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 658.2 to 709.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday-shortened week ended Oct. 15, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 2.8% on the week but were up 8.4% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index rose from 436.3 to 461.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 1949.2 to 2155.2. Refinancings represented 45.6% of total applications, up from 44.5% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 34.8%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 5.69% to 5.64%, and points (including the origination fee) held steady at 1.30 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.