Another round of rising interest rates last week sent mortgage application volume tumbling, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.
The market composite index, which measures total mortgage application volume, declined 8.4 percent last week, falling to 611.3 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 667.2 one week earlier.
Refinancings took the largest hit last week, as the seasonally adjusted refinance index dropped 9.6 percent from the previous week, reducing the refinance share of activity to 47.8 percent of total applications.
Applications to purchase homes were down for the second straight week with an 8.4 percent decline in the purchase index, following a 7 percent decrease the week before.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 20.3 percent from 21.2 percent of total applications from the previous week, MBA reported.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 6.22 percent last week, with points including the origination fee decreasing to 0.97 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 rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.93 percent from 5.92 percent, with points increasing to 1.02 for 80 percent loan-to-value-ratio loans.
Average rates for one-year ARMs increased to 5.91 percent from 5.85, with points holding at 0.81.
The Mortgage Bankers Association 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.
