Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose to 663.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Nov. 14 from 626.0 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 6.6% on the week and down 51.9% from a year earlier. The Purchase Index rose from 375.4 to 425.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 2084.2 to 2043.9. Refinancings represented 48.1% of total applications, down from 50.9% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 27.5%, their highest share in more than three years. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped from 5.94% to 5.64%, and points (including the origination fee) rose from 1.39 to 1.54 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.