Despite a dip in mortgage rates, overall home loan applications fell 4.6 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 6.2 percent to 398.5 from 425 the previous week, and the refinance index decreased by 1.6 percent to 1,377.6 from 1,400.5 one week earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 35 percent of total applications from 34 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 29 percent of total applications from 28.7 percent the previous week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.73 percent from 6.81 percent, with points including the origination fee increasing to 1.13 from 1.06 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.
Points, which are fees charged by lenders for loan processing, are expressed as a percent of the total loan amount.
The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages decreased to 6.38 percent from 6.4 percent. Points including the origination fee decreased to 1.02 from 1.17 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for one-year ARMs decreased to 6.28 percent from 6.41 percent. Points including the origination fee increased to 0.85 from 0.78 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.
Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association is a national association representing the real estate finance industry. The survey covers approximately 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage originations, and has been conducted weekly since 1990. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts.
