Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 574.1 to 599.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the holiday-shortened week ended Jan. 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications rose 23.5% on the week, and they were down 53.2% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index rose from 390.1 to 401.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 1644.3 to 1755.4. Refinancings represented 49.7% of total applications, up from 49.3% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 30.3%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.73% to 5.81%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.31 to 1.43 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.