MBA: Mortgage Apps Slide 8.2%

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, decreased 8.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1245.7 down to 1143.8 during the week ended Jan. 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The index was adjusted by MBA to account for the short week because of New Year's Day. On an unadjusted basis, there would have been an 8.9% decrease compared with the previous week but the index would have increased by 28.3% compared with the same week one year earlier. The Purchase Index increased 7.3% to 344.2 from 320.9 one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index decreased 12.3% to 5904.5 from 6733.8. Refinancings fell to 79.8% of applications from 82.9% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 0.9% of applications, up from 0.8% for the previous week, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.07% from 5.03%, with points (including the origination fee) decreasing to 1.16 from 1.24 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the association reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.