MBA: Weekly Loan Apps Slip

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, fell to 1246.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended April 4 from 1262.5 the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were down 1.0% on the week but up 159.7% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index rose to 400.8 from 364.7, and the Refinance Index fell to 6162.8 from 6484.6. Refinancings represented 70.3% of total applications, down from the previous week's 73.3%, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 14.4%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.80% from 5.63% and points (including the origination fee) decreased from 1.50 to 1.38 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.