Overall mortgage application volume decreased 5 percent for the week ending October 29, the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org (MBA) reported Wednesday.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]The decline was led by a falloff in refinances, however, applications for home purchases increased during the week.
MBA's refinance index decreased 6.4 percent from the previous week. This is the third straight week refinances â€" which made up just over 80 percent of total applications â€" have dropped.
The trade group's purchase index, on the other hand, increased 1.4 percent from one week earlier.
MBA also reported on average contract interest rates from the week. Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages increased to 4.28 percent, up from 4.25 percent the week prior.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 3.64 percent from 3.67 percent.