Mortgage applications down, MBA says Application volume declined nearly 7% last week; interest rates on 30-year mortgages reach 6.86%, a four-year high. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. mortgage applications fell last week as the 30-year mortgage rate reached a four-year high, an industry trade group said Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended June 23 decreased 6.7 percent to 529.6 from the previous week's 567.6. Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.86 percent, up 0.13 percentage point from the previous week, its highest level since April 2002. The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase mortgage index fell 6.2 percent to 389.0. The group's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications decreased 7.5 percent to 1356.0. The refinance share of applications decreased to 35.3 percent from 35.5 the previous week. Fixed 15-year mortgage rates averaged 6.49 percent, up from 6.37 the previous week. Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) increased to 6.36 percent from 6.22 percent. The ARM share of activity decreased to 29.1 percent of total applications from 29.6 the previous week. The MBA's survey covers about 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage loans. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts. |
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