Applications Rise

Mortgage applications rose 4.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 36.4% on the week, but up 134.0% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index fell from 359.4 to 332.4, and the Refinance Index climbed from 4101.0 to 4548.8. Refinancings represented 75.9% of total applications, up from 72.5% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 11.2%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from a survey-record low of 5.74% to a new record of 5.69%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.56 to 1.53 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.