Apps Fall; Refi Index Below 2000

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 628.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Aug. 29 from 638.6 the week before, while the Refinance Index fell below 2000 for the first time since June 2002, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 2.7% on the week and 40.3% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index increased from 375.5 to 396.1, and the Refinance Index declined from 2169.0 to 1981.5. Refinancings represented 45.9% of total applications, down from 48.9% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 23.3%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 6.22% to 6.25%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.29 to 1.27 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.