Weekly mortgage applications in the United States spiked by 33.4% in the week ending Sept. 12, according to data released from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday.

In the previous week, applications rose by 9.5%.

The portion of fixed-rate mortgages rose 36.7% after increasing 9.8%, previously, while those opting for variable rates declined by 16.7% after the previous week's 5.5% decrease.

Compared to last year, the market composite index fell 1.3%.

The average loan size was $235.0K, compared to previous week's $222.4k.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage moved down to 5.82% from 6.06%.

By Steve Stecyk and edited by Stephen Huebl
©CEP News Ltd. 2008