Mortgage application volume declined for the fifth time in the last six weeks, this time by 5% for the week ended July 22, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
There was a small increase in average rates tracked by the MBA for both 30- and 15-year fixed rate mortgages during the period.
The Refinance Index declined by 5.5%, while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3.8% from the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the Purchase Index is 2.2% higher than the same week in 2010.
The market share of refi applications decreased to 69.6% from 70.1% one week prior. MBA tracks activity through its proprietary application index.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was up 3 basis points to 4.57% from 4.54% the previous week, with points (including the origination fee) increasing to 1.14 from 0.98 for 80% loan-to-value ratio loans.
The average contract interest rate for the 15-year FRM rose by a single basis point to 3.67%, while points increased to 1.08 from 0.97.
