Applications Drop

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 677.4 to 605.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday week ended Dec. 31, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications fell 9.4% on the week but were up 0.2% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 483.8 to 417.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 1803.9 to 1701.3. Refinancings represented 48.0% of total applications, up from 46.2% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 32.6%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 5.72% to 5.67%, and points (including the origination fee) rose from 1.33 to 1.35 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.