Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 689.4 to 646.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Aug. 20, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications declined 7.3% on the week but were up 1.8% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 467.1 to 443.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 1982.7 to 1824.9. Refinancings represented 40.4% of total applications, down from 40.7% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 32.1%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.75% to 5.78%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.45 to 1.37, for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.