Mortgage application rates in the United States fell by 1.1 percent last week driven by higher interest rate, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Composite Index. The previous week ending Sept. 10 saw applications increase by 0.3 percent in contrast to the week ending Sept. 24. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances of up to $548,250 or less increased to 3.10 percent from 3.03 percent. Points, including origination fee, increased from 0.30 to 0.34 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans (loans with a downpayment of 20 percent). Meanwhile, the average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased from 2.34 percent to 2.43 percent. Points, including origination fee, increased from 0.24 to 0.29 for loans with a downpayment of 20 percent. Applications to refinance a home loan also fell 1 percent from the previous week and were just 0.4 percent higher than the same week in 2020. Meanwhile, the unadjusted Purchase Index of mortgage applications decreased 2 percent …