Refis down 5 percent in past two weeks

Despite rising interest rates last week, mortgage applications were up 11.3 percent in comparison to their level during the Martin Luther King Day holiday week that preceded it, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. However, purchase applications were flat over the last two-week period and refinance applications declined by around five percent. Last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw its average contract interest rate increase to 4.81 percent, from 4.8 percent one week earlier. The 15-year mortgage similarly saw its rate rise to 4.13 percent from 4.12 percent in the week-ago period. TRD