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MORTGAGE LOAN APPS FALL
| The Mortgage Bankers Association of America's (MBA) Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications, a measure of mortgage loan applications for purchases and refinancings, decreased by 3.7 percent to 699.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Sept. 19 from 726.7 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased by 4.2 percent to 686.9 for the week ending Sept. 19 from 717.3 one week earlier. "With mortgage rates declining for the third week in a row, the share of applications for refinances surged over the 50 percent threshold," said Michael Cevarr, MBA's manager of member surveys. "This move is not surprising as the refinance share tends to grow in a declining mortgage rate environment." The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 51.9 percent of total applications for the week ending Sept. 19 compared to 49.9 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 22.7 percent for the week ending Sept. 19 from 22.4 percent the previous week. |