MBA: Interest rates drop as loan application volume rises

Mortgage loan application volume rose by a total of 9.1 percent for the week that ended Jan. 15, as interest rates dropped and refinancing activity continued to command an increasing share of the mortgage market, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today. For the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, average contract interest rates declined to 5 percent, from 5.13 percent one week earlier. The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages was 4.33 percent, down from 4.45 percent the previous week. Meanwhile, refinancing applications rose 10.7 percent in volume over the course of the week and accounted for 71.7 percent of all mortgage applications, up from 71.5 percent the week prior. Mortgage applications for new purchases rose 4.4 percent during the same period. TRD