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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a decrease of 2.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index for the week ending August 25. During the week, mortgage loan rates fell on three of the five loan types that the MBA tracks.

On an unadjusted basis, the composite index decreased by 4% week over week. The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 3% compared with the week ended August 18. The unadjusted purchase index decreased by 5% for the week and is now 4% higher year over year.

The MBA’s refinance index decreased by 2% week over week, and the percentage of all new applications that were seeking refinancing rose from 48.7% to 49.4%.

Adjustable rate mortgage loans accounted for 6.9% of all applications, up 0.5 percentage points from the prior week.

Mortgage rates slipped firmly into the high 3% rates last week, according to Matthew Graham at Mortgage News Daily. The most prevalently quoted rate on top borrowers is now 3.875%, with 3.75% possible and 3.625% available from some aggressive lenders. Keep in mind, though, that these rates depend on a high credit score, a big down payment and an aggressive lender. A hit to any of these takes you out of the running.

According to the MBA, last week’s average mortgage loan rate for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked down from 4.12% to 4.11%, its lowest rate since November. The rate for a jumbo 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose from 3.99% to 4.00%. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped from 3.40% to 3.36%, also a low since November.

The contract interest rate for a 5/1 adjustable rate mortgage loan fell from 3.27% to 3.26%. Rates on a 30-year FHA-backed fixed-rate loan remained unchanged at 4.02%.

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