So much for the extension of the first-time home buyer tax credit…
Last week, applications to purchase a home hit their lowest point since November 1997 after falling for the sixth consecutive week, according to the latest survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The latest weekly decline was 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, accompanied by a 1.4 percent decrease in refinance applications.
The unadjusted purchase index was off 7.9 percent compared to one week earlier and 14.7 percent compared to the same week last year.
Overall, mortgage applications were off 2.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis (-3.3 percent unadjusted) for the week ending November 13 compared to one week earlier.
The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 72.9 percent of total applications, up from 71.5 percent a week earlier; that’s the highest share since May 15.
Meanwhile, interest rates continued to trickle lower, with the 30-year fixed slipping to 4.83 percent from 4.90 percent, and the 15-year fixed averaging 4.32 percent, down a single basis point from a week earlier.
The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage decreased to 6.82 percent from 6.85 percent, but still greatly exceeds fixed-rate options, which explains why ARMs only accounted for 5.4 percent of total applications.
The MBA’s weekly survey covers more than half of retail, residential home loan applications, but does not factor out multiple or declined apps.
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