Mortgage applications are up solidly as interest rates continue to stay down. Overall applications jumped five-point-three percent last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association says applications are four-tenths of a percent higher than a year ago. Applications for loans to buy homes were up six-percent for the week and applications to refinance existing mortgages were up five-percent. The national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell one basis point, to four-point-65 percent. Rates have been holding below five-percent since the middle of December.
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