According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey, demand for mortgage loans surged last week from the week before. The Market Composite Index, which measures both refinance and purchase activity, was up 11.1 percent due to a 12 percent increase in the Refinance Index and an 8.0 percent jump in the Purchase Index. Last week’s results include the customary upward adjustment for the Labor Day holiday, however, which may overstate the level of refinance applications because lenders who rely heavily on online applications saw little or no decline due to the holiday. Still, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 3.75 percent last week from 3.78 percent the week before. And the refinance share of all mortgage activity climbed to 80 percent from 79 percent the previous week. More here and here.
