Mortgage Applications Drop 7.5%
Fewer refinancings and rising interest rates caused mortgage applications to drop over the past week, the Mortgage Bankers Association says.

Loan volume dropped 7.5 percent this week, following a 2.7 percent increase on a seasonally adjusted basis last week.

The unadjusted purchase index dropped 1.5 percent this past week. The purchase index is down 21.9 percent compared to the same week a year ago, MBA reports.

Meanwhile, refinancing activity this past week decreased to 64.3 percent of total applications, which marks the second lowest refinance share since May of last year, according to the MBA.

Interest rates have been on the rise. For example, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice among borrowers, increased to 4.92 percent from 4.8 percent a week prior.

Source: “Mortgage Applications Decline 7.5% As Refinancing Activity Subsides,” HousingWire (March 30, 2011)