Applications Increase

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose to 1358.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended July 11 from 1346.3 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 26.4% on the week and 85.8% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index increased from 414.1 to 447.2, and the Refinance Index declined from 6768.3 to 6657.2. Refinancings represented 70.1% of total applications, down from 72.1% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 15.4%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 5.37% to 5.33%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.46 to 1.47 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.