Mortgage Applications Fall, October Plunge Revised Up

Mortgage applications continued to dip last week as November got under way, the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://mba.org/ (MBA) reported in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

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The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, fell 1.8 percent for the week ending November 8. Volume data for the week ending November 1 was revised upward to reflect a 2.8 percent drop (compared to the originally reported 7 percent decrease). On an unadjusted basis, last week's index was down 3 percent.

The survey's Refinance Index dropped 2 percent from the previous week. The refinance share of total mortgage activity was flat at about 66 percent.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 1 percent week-over-week. Unadjusted, that index was 3 percent down compared to the prior week and 6 percent down from the same week last year.

MBA's measure of mortgage rates went up, with the average 30-year fixed rate climbing to 4.44 percent--the highest level in a month. Points increased to 0.44 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value loans.