Mortgage application volume continued to decline during the week ended March 13, dropping 3.9% compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
As of last week, mortgage application volume had fallen for five of the previous six weeks.
On an unadjusted basis, volume decreased 4% compared with the previous week.
Applications for refinances fell 5% while applications for purchases fell 2%.
On an unadjusted basis, applications for purchases fell 1% compared with the previous week and were 1% higher than the same week one year ago.
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 59% of total applications, down from 60% the previous week.
The drop in volume came even as mortgage interest rates began to decline again. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) with conforming loan balance ($417,000 or less) was 3.99%, down from 4.01% the previous week.
The average rate for a 30-year FRM with jumbo loan balance (greater than $417,000) was 3.94%, down from 4.02%.
The average rate for a 30-FRM backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was 3.74%, down from 3.80%.
The average rate for a 15-year FRM was 3.28%, down slightly from 3.29%.
The average rate for a 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was 2.99%, down from 3.18%.
The ARM share of activity decreased to 5.5% of total applications.
Looking at volume by loan type, applications for mortgages backed by the FHA represented 14.3% of all applications, down from 14.0% the previous week. Applications for Veterans Affairs mortgages represented 10.3% of all loans, down from 10.8% the previous week. Application volume for mortgages through the U.S. Department of Agriculture increased to 0.9% of all applications, up from 0.8%.