Mortgage applications decreased last week, while mortgage rates also slipped, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association trade group.
The market composite index, a measure of mortgage application volume, fell 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from a week earlier. The index that tracks refinance loans decreased 1.4 percent, and the purchase index decreased 5 percent, according to MBA.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 38.5 percent of total applications from 37.7 percent the previous week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity remained unchanged at 21 percent of total applications from the previous week.
Interest rates held down borrowing costs, with the average contract interest rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages decreasing to 6.59 percent from 6.61 percent, and the average contract interest rate on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages falling to 6.34 percent from 6.29 percent the previous week.
Meanwhile, the average rate for one-year ARMs increased to 5.62 from 5.6 percent.