Mortgage Applications Fall as Rates Rise

Washington, DC, Aug. 12, 2009--The volume of home-loan applications slipped last week a seasonally adjusted 3.5% compared with the previous week as interest rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Applications filed were still up an unadjusted 16.1% for the week ended Aug. 7 from the same week in 2008, according to the MBA's weekly survey. The survey covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.

Mortgage applications filed last week to purchase homes were up 1.1%, compared with the week before. Applications to refinance existing mortgages decreased 7.2%, on a week-to-week basis, reversing the 7.2% increase during the week ended July 31, according to the Washington-based MBA.

Refinance applications made up 52.3% of all applications last week, down from 54.2% the previous week.

According to the MBA survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages carried an average interest rate last week of 5.38%, up from 5.17% the week before.

As for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, the average climbed to 4.71% last week, up from 4.60% the week before.