Refis fall for third straight week

Fewer Americans sought to refinance their mortgage last week as long-term interest rates ticked upward, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, for the week that ended Oct. 20. For the third week in a row, the MBA’s refinance index decreased from the previous week, this time by 6.4 percent. Meanwhile, purchase application volume was up 1.4 percent week-over-week, though it was 28 percent below its level one year ago. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage saw its average contract interest rate rise to 4.28 percent from 4.25 one week ago, with points also increasing to 1.07 from 1.00 for 80 percent loan-to-value ration loans, the MBA said. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, though, saw an interest rate decline to 3.64 percent, on average, from 3.67 percent a week earlier. TRD