The rate of mortgage applications initiated increased in two weekly surveys. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) index of gross mortgage applications increased 8.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Oct. 30. MBA’s refinance index increased 14.5% from the previous week. The association’s purchase index decreased 1.8%. Refinance applications took a 66.1% share of all applications, up from 62.3% in the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of all applications decreased to 6.1% from 6.9%. Mortgage Maxx’s survey of applications — which adjusts gross applications to reflect the number of households initiating applications — increased 1.6% for the same period. “The Max temporarily abates its twenty percent decline since early October; however the downward flight path through the end of 2009 will resume both in real and nominal terms as the holiday effect begins in two short weeks,” Mortgage Maxx said in its report. Write to Austin Kilgore.