Mortgage applications surge in week

WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- The volume of applications for U.S. mortgages increased dramatically last week, rising by a seasonally adjusted 33.4 percent, an industry group said.

The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, rose from 496.2 to 661.7 in the week ending Sept. 12, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a release Wednesday.

The Refinance Index also soared, up 88.1 percent to 2300.0, the MBA said.

The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages decreased from 6.06 percent to 5.82 percent with points increasing from 1.02 to 1.13, the organization said.

Rates for the average 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage fell from 5.73 percent to 5.54 percent. Points for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose from 0.98 to 1.12.

The average interest rate for one-year adjustable rate mortgages fell from 7 percent with an average of 0.3 points to 6.95 percent with an average 0.34 points, the report said.

With the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association placed in conservatorship "we expect to see meaningful increases in mortgage demand in coming weeks on both the purchase and refinance sides," said Orawin Velz, MBA's associate vice president of economic forecasting.