The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Tuesday that applications were up in the week ending Dec. 2, even accounting for the Thanksgiving holiday the week before.

It said that refinancing, not new purchases, dominated as rates stayed low.

The MBA's Purchase Index was up 47.2 percent compared with the shortened Thanksgiving week, but it was 0.8 percent lower than the same week one year ago and up 8.3 percent week over week on an adjusted basis.

MBA's Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, increased 12.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.

"Applications increased significantly as mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels in about two months,”  Michael Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics, said. “In particular, refinance applications increased sharply, with some lenders seeing refinance volume double."

Refinancing applications made up 76.0 percent of total applications compared with 73.9 percent the previous week, MBA reported. 

For home purchase, 85.5 percent of applicants wanted fixed-rate 30-year loans, 6.8 percent sought 15-year fixed loans, and 5.9 percent wanted adjustable-rate mortgages.