According to the Mortgage Bankers Associations’ Weekly Applications Survey, mortgage rates are now lower than they have been at any time this year. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.67 percent last week from 4.76 percent the week before. The rate drop spurred a 9.0 percent surge in the Refinance Index and a 6.7 percent jump in the Purchase Index. Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research, said over the past four weeks, the Refinance Index has risen 18 percent. The Market Composite Index, which measures total loan application volume, was up 8.2 percent from the previous week. More here.