Mortgage Loan Applications Rise

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 553.3 for the week ending Aug. 4, up 4.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 527.6 one week earlier, The Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.

On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 4.3 percent for the week ending Aug. 4 compared with the previous week and was down 24.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.

The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38 percent of total applications for the week ending Aug. 4 from 37 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity hit the lowest level since March 2004, declining to 27.6 percent of total applications from 27.8 percent the previous week.

**Taken from the California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated August 9, 2006.