Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 1262.5 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 28 from 1520.9 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 16.8% on the week but up 149.5% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index fell from 383.7 to 364.7, and the Refinance Index fell from 8135.7 to 6484.6. Refinancings represented 73.3% of total applications, down from the previous week's 76.5%, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 13.5%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 5.81% to 5.63%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.55 to 1.50 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.