Mortgage application volume fell for a fourth straight week, dropping 6.7% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey.
For the week ended October 18, applications for refinances decreased 8% compared with the previous week but were up 90% compared with the same week one year ago.
Applications for purchases decreased 5% compared with the previous week but were up 3% compared with the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage rates saw mixed results last week, but the 30-year fixed rate remained unchanged at 6.52 percent,” explains Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist for the MBA, in a statement. “Application activity decreased to its lowest level since July, as both purchase and refinance applications saw declines.
“Purchase applications continued to run stronger than last year’s pace for the fifth consecutive week,” Kan says. “Even though rates have been on a recent upswing, they are over a full percentage point lower than a year ago, which has kept some homebuyers in the market. For-sale inventory has started to loosen, and home-price growth has eased in some markets, providing more options for buyers in combination with these lower rates.”
The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 45.7% of total applications, down from 46.5% the previous week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 6.1% of total applications.
Photo: Romain Dancre