Applications Fall

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 692.0 to 678.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday-shortened week ended Sept. 10, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications declined 22.5% on the week and was down 25.4% from the level of a year earlier (a week that did not include Labor Day). The Purchase Index fell from 476.0 to 455.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 1948.9 to 1972.5. Refinancings represented 43.2% of total applications, up from 41.4% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 33.0%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 5.79% to 5.68%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.37 to 1.36, for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.