Refis and Total Apps See Declines During Week

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, decreased 38.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis (to 732.1 from 1195.3) during the week ended Jan. 23, as there was a substantial decline in refinance applications, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This week's results included an adjustment to account for the shortened week due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. On an unadjusted basis, there would have been a 46.5% decrease compared with the previous week and a 40.4% decrease when compared with the same week one year earlier. The Purchase Index decreased 2.9% to 294.3 from 303.1 one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index decreased 48% to 3373.9 from 6491.8. Refinancings decreased to 72.8% of applications from 83.3% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 2.4% of applications, up from 1.5% for the previous week, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 5.22% from 5.24%, with points (including the origination fee) decreasing to 1.05 from 1.16 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the association reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.