Applications Inch Up

Mortgage applications rose 2.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended March 25, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 2.4% on the week, but down 36.5% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index rose from 446.4 to 470.9, and the Refinance Index fell from 1894.4 to 1857.2. Refinancings represented 37.8% of total applications, up from 39.5% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 36.6%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased from 5.95% to 6.08%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.22 to 1.34 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.