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Sandy squashed mortgage volumes

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Superstorm Sandy, which ravaged the East Coast, slowed mortgage application activity considerably last week, a banking group said Wednesday.

"Last week's storm had a significant impact on application volumes on the East Coast," said Mike Fratantoni, vice president of research and economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association.

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"Applications fell more than 60 percent compared to the prior week in New Jersey and almost 50 percent in New York and nearly 40 percent in Connecticut," he said in a statement.

Across the country, mortgage activity and refinancing activity both fell 5 percent, with refinancing numbers down for the fifth consecutive week, the MBA said.

In the week that ended Friday, interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate conforming mortgages fell from 3.65 percent to 3.61 percent with points rising from 0.39 to 0.45.

The average interest rate for 30-year contracts on jumbo loans -- those larger than $417,500 -- fell from 3.94 percent to 3.88 percent with points unchanged at 0.36.

Interest rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages held steady at 2.95 percent. Points for 15-year, fixed-rate contracts fell from 0.35 to 0.4.

The average rate for 30-year loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration fell from 3.41 percent to 3.37 percent with points falling from 0.76 to 0.75. Average rate for short-term, adjustable-rate mortgages fell from 2.66 percent to 2.61 percent in the week with points increasing from 0.33 to 0.41, the MBA said.

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