Mortgage activity down slightly in week

US mortgage activity slipped in the week ending Friday, a correction in part due to the previous week's hurricane-related spike in the data. The volume of mortgage applications declined 2.2 percent after jumping 12.6 percent in the previous week. Refinancing activity for the current week dropped 3 percent, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. In the week that ended Friday, interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate conforming mortgages rose from 3.52 percent to 3.54 percent with points falling from 0.41 to 0.4. The average interest rate for 30-year contracts on jumbo loans -- those larger than $417,500 -- fell from 3.83 percent to 3.76 percent with points also falling from 0.41 to 0.4. Interest rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose from 2.88 percent to 2.89. Points for 15-year, fixed-rate contracts fell from 0.37 to 0.25. The average rate for 30-year loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration rose from 3.34 percent to 3.36 percent with points falling from 0.78 to 0.63. Average rate for short-term, adjustable-rate mortgages rose from 2.6 percent to 2.62 percent in the week with points increasing from 0.3 to 0.37, the MBA said.