Mortgage Applications Up But Well Short of 2007

Washington, DC, Oct. 8, 2008--Mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 2.2 percent compared with the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages decreased.

However, filings for the week ended Oct. 3 were down an unadjusted 28.6 percent from the same week in 2007, the MBA reported Wednesday in its latest survey. The survey covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications.

Applications for mortgages to purchase homes rose 3.2 percent on a week-to-week basis, while refinance applications increased 0.9 percent.

Refinancings accounted for 43.4 percent of overall applications last week, down from 44.0 percent the previous week.

The average rate on 30-year mortgages stood at 5.99 percent, down from 6.07 percent the week before, while the rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.71 percent, down from 5.82 percent.