MBA: Mortgage Application Volume Down 3.1%

Mortgage application activity continued to slow last week, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The trade group’s Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 3.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis and 4% on an unadjusted basis from one week earlier. Both the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted Purchase Indexes were down by 3% from one week earlier, with the unadjusted index down 27% from the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index fell by 4% from the previous week and was 37% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 28.7% of total applications from 28.9% in the previous week.

Among the federal programs, the FHA share of total applications increased to 13.6% from 13.3% the week prior while the VA share of total applications increased to 11.8% from 11.6% and the USDA share of total applications decreased to 0.4% from 0.7%.

Joel Kan, MBA’s vice president, and deputy chief economist, observed, “The rate for FHA mortgages increased to 7.02%, the highest rate since 2002. Not surprisingly, mortgage applications continued to decline given these higher rates, with overall application counts falling for the third consecutive week, as both purchase and refinance activity declined. The purchase index fell for the fourth consecutive week, as homebuyers continue to struggle with low for-sale inventory and elevated mortgage rates.”