Adjusted Apps Slide

Mortgage applications fell 6.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 19, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 7.7% on the week and down 34.7% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index dropped to 411.6 from 437.2 the week previous and the Refinance Index fell to 1908.3 from 2072.9. Refinancings represented 51.7% of total applications, compared to 51.8% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 27.8%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed rate mortgages fell to 5.62% from 5.71%, and points (including the origination fee) jumped to 1.53 from 1.46 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.