Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 791.9 to 801.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended July 15, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications increased 26.5% on the week and were up 28.6% from the level recorded a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 489.0 to 488.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 2554.3 to 2618.2. The four-week moving average for the Purchase Index rose 0.5%, from 491.7 to 494.0, and the four-week moving average for the Refinance Index rose 0.4%, from 2611.7 to 2622.5. (The moving averages are a recent addition to the MBA survey.) Refinancings represented 45.7% of total applications, up from 45.1% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 28.5%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.62% to 5.72%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.26 to 1.14 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.