Applications for mortgages declined for the week ending March 11 when compared to a week earlier as interest rates rose to multi-year highs, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The Market Composite Index, which measures the volume of mortgage applications, fell 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, the index fell one percent when compared to the previous week. The refinance index decreased by 3 percent and was 49 percent lower when compared to the same week in 2021, based on MBA’s weekly survey report. “Mortgage rates continue to be volatile due to the significant uncertainty regarding Federal Reserve policy and the situation in Ukraine,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “Investors are weighing the impacts of rapidly increasing inflation in the U.S. and many other parts of the world against the potential for a …