30-year mortgage rate falls to 6.54% from 6.55% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Washington, 14 Aug - Mortgage applications in the US rose 16.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week ago, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for the week ending August 9.

The Refinance Index increased 35.0% from the previous week, and was 118% higher from a year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index rose 3% from a week earlier while the unadjusted Purchase Index rose 2% from a week earlier.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances (766,550 dollars or less) decreased to 6.54% from 6.55%.

'Rates on both 30- and 15-year fixed rate mortgages decreased for the second consecutive week, and combined with the previous week's rate moves, spurred another strong week for application activity as borrowers with higher rates took the opportunity to refinance,' said Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist.

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(RADIOCOR) 14-08-24 14:49:01 (0353) 5 NNNN