The mortgage market disregarded a slight increase in interest rates last week. Refinance applications posted a second weekly gain, and the Purchase Mortgage Index resumed the upward trend it has pursued since early November after a small correction the previous week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index for the week ended December 9 increased 3.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, it was up 0.4 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index was 3 percent higher week-over-week but 85 percent lower than the same week in 2021. Refinance applications made up 29.4 percent of total applications, up from 28.7 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 4 percent from one week earlier although the pace declined 1 percent before adjustment and was 38 percent lower than the same week a year earlier. [purchaseappschart] “Mortgage rates increased slightly after a month of declines, as financial markets reacted to mixed signals regarding inflation and the Federal Reserve’s next policy moves. The 30-year fixed rate inched to 6.42 percent, which is still close to the lowest rate in a month,” Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist said. “Overall applications increased, driven by increases in purchase and refinance activity. However, with rates more than three percentage points higher than a year ago, both purchase and refinance applications are still well behind last year’s pace .”