Apps Fall Slightly

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell from 646.3 to 642.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Aug. 27, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications declined 1.9% on the week but were up 2.6% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index fell from 443.7 to 443.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index declined from 1824.9 to 1804.1. Refinancings represented 40.7% of total applications, up from 40.4% 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 5.78% to 5.75%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.37 to 1.32, for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.