Applications Slide

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 1520.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended March 21 from a record high of 1673.4 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 8.8% on the week but up 194.8% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index rose from 347.3 to 383.7, and the Refinance Index fell from a record high of 9387.0 to 8135.7. Refinancings represented 76.5% of total applications, down from the previous week's record high of 80.5%, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 14.7%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.61% to 5.81%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.48 to 1.55 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.