Mortgage applications continued their downward swing last week, but lower rates are sparking activity in the refinancing market. Applications declined 1.9 percent from a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association revealed on Wednesday. The decline for the week ending Dec. 2 came even as mortgage rates continued to slip, down 73 basis points from a month ago. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with conforming loan balances dropped from 6.49 percent