Mortgage applications decrease

As America frets over problems in the subprime mortgage market causing a wider credit crunch, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications decreased in its latest weekly survey.

For the week ending Aug. 24, the MBA index that measures the nationwide volume of mortgage loan applications was 615.2, a decrease of 4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 641.1 one week earlier.

On an unadjusted basis, the index was up 10.6 percent compared with the same week one year earlier, the association said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)