Mortgage applications slowed considerably last week both adjusted for the Thanksgiving holiday and on an unadjusted basis. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its market composite index fell 16.5% for the week ended Nov. 26 on a seasonally adjusted basis including an adjustment for the holiday. The index decreased 34.2% from the prior week on an unadjusted basis. Refinancing and purchase applications are heading in opposite directions, according to the MBA. The purchase index rose 1.1% last week to the highest level since early May while refinancings dropped 21.6% to the lowest point since June. Although the unadjusted purchase applications index fell 22.9% from the previous week and is 2.7% higher than a year earlier. The numbers continue to swing back and forth weekly. Last week, the MBA reported the overall index rose 2.1% aided by a 14.4% gain in purchase applications. In four-week moving averages, the seasonally adjusted market index is down 5.8%, the purchase index is up 3.8% and the refinance index is down 8.2%. Refinancings continue to account for less and less of all weekly mortgage applications, and the figure fell to 74.9% last week, down from 78.6% the week earlier. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has risen steadily for about a month and is now at 4.56%, according to the MBA, up from 4.5% the week before. The average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage increased to 3.91% from 3.83% a week earlier. Write to Jason Philyaw.