Apps Fall Again

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 554.1 to 545.9 on a seasonally adjusted -- and holiday-adjusted -- basis during the week ended Dec. 30, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications decreased 20.8% on the week and were down 9.9% from the level recorded a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 432.9 to 418.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 1259.1 to 1363.2. The four-week moving average for the Purchase Index fell from 464.8 to 449.2, and the comparable average for the Refinance Index fell from 1428.9 to 1344.5. Refinancings represented 42.7% of total applications, up from 40.2% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 28.8%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 6.21% to 6.15%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.18 to 1.32 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the association reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.