Total Apps Fall After Spike, Refi Share Increases

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, decreased 7.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from 857.7 to 796.8 during the week ended Dec. 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The Purchase Index decreased 17.4% to 298.1 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index decreased 0.9% to 3767.3. The application indexes both shot up during the week ended Nov. 28 as interest rates plummeted. Refinancings continued to boom, representing 73.7% of total applications, up from 69.1% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 1.1%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased 2 basis points from 5.47% to 5.45%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.16 to 1.23 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the association reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.