Mortgage Application Activity Slows Down

Mortgage application activity declined for the week ending May 16, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, the MBA’s measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the index was down by 5%.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 5% from one week earlier while the unadjusted index took a 6% drop – the latter was also 13% higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index was also down by 5% from the previous week, although it was 27% higher than the same week one year ago. Although its index declined, the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 36.6% of total applications from 36.4% the previous week.

Among the federal program, the FHA share of total applications increased to 17.9% from 17.4% the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 12.6% from 13.4% and the USDA share of total applications remained unchanged.