Mortgage applications fell last week after interest rates edged up and consumers dialed back on refinancing.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday its index of mortgage activity, which includes both refinances and purchase activity, fell 2.2% for the week ended Nov. 16 from a week earlier, after adjustment for seasonal variations and the Veterans Day holiday.
The refinance index fell 3% from the prior week, while the purchase index rose 3%, according to the trade group. Overall, refinancings made up 81% of mortgage applications, unchanged from a week earlier.
Fixed-rate, 30-year mortgages with loan balances of $417,500 or less averaged 3.54%, up from 3.52% a week earlier. The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances greater than $417,500 fell to 3.76% from 3.83%.
The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration increased to 3.36% from 3.34%, while points on FHA loans fell to 0.63 from 0.78.
The survey, which covers more than 75% of all U.S. residential mortgage applications, comes amid signs of a pickup in the housing market. Sales of existing homes rose in October while the supply of homes for sale shrank to its lowest in nearly a decade, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.
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