Applications Rise

Mortgage applications rose 14.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 13, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 14.0% on the week and 83.1% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index rose from 358.8 to 379.9, and the Refinance Index climbed from 3793.8 to 4507.6. Refinancings represented 73.0% of total applications, up from 70.0% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 14.1%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 5.95% to 5.91%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.42 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.