Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 678.2 to 690.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Sept. 17, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications climbed 26.4% on the week but were down 1.5% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index crept up from 455.7 to 456.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 1972.5 to 2052.5. (However, the MBA noted that the Purchase Index was up 13.6% on an unadjusted basis from its level of a year earlier, while the Refinance Index was down 15.5%.) Refinancings represented 44.5% of total applications, up from 43.2% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 33.1%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from 5.68% to 5.66%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.36 to 1.29, for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.