Apps Rise as Refi Index Jumps

Mortgage applications rose 10.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Feb. 28 as the Refinance Index surged well above 6000, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 23.7% on the week and 94.8% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index climbed from 309.0 to 345.9, and the Refinance Index climbed from 5989.6 to 6614.0. (The record high for the refi index, 6926.9, was reached last October.) Refinancings represented 74.7% of total applications, down from 75.3% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 13.8%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell from a record low of 5.65% to a new record of 5.57%, and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.49 to 1.46 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.