According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, demand for mortgage loan applications grew last week as rates dropped to another survey low. The Market Composite Index, which measures both refinance and purchase loan volume, increased 2.8 percent from the week before. The improvement was due to a 3.0 percent spike in the Refinance Index and a 1.0 percent jump in the Purchase Index. Refinance applications accounted for 81.2 percent of total application volume, the highest since early August. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to 3.63 percent from 3.72 percent the week before. It was the lowest average mortgage rate recorded in the survey’s history. More here.