Mortgage Loan Applications Down

WASHINGTON, DC-The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage loan applications were down for the last week of March. According to the organization’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the market composite index of applications was down 485.3 for the week ending March 29 from 494.8 the week before, a 1.9% difference. The numbers were calculated on a seasonably adjustable basis. On an unadjusted basis, the change marked a decrease of 1.6% compared with the same period in 2001.

A trend does not appear since the rate fluctuated, increasing and decreasing over the month of March. The index measures the number of loan applications as well as purchase and refi activity. For the week ending March 22, there was a seasonably adjusted increase of 4.9% from the previous week, and for the seven-day period concluding on March 15, a decrease of 11%.