From RealTrends.com: Mortgage applications jumped 23.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended January 13, 2012. The increase in the Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume maintained by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reflected improvements in both the purchase and refinance business following the traditionally slow Christmas and New Year holiday period. On an unadjusted basis the index increased 38.1 percent.The Refinance Index increased 26.4 percent from the week ended January 6 to its highest point since August 8, 2011. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index rose 10.3 percent, returning to pre-holiday levels. The unadjusted Purchase Index was up 28.4 percent from the previous week and was 2.2 percent higher than during the same week in 2011.