Home loan application volume fell 6.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending November 14, thanks to flagging purchase activity, the MBA reported today.
On an unadjusted basis, the application index was off 7.2 percent compared with the previous week and 41.3 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.
During the week, purchase activity slid 12.6 percent, while FHA lending slowed by 6.5 percent and refinances by 2.6 percent.
The slow in purchases meant a larger share of refinance activity, now accounting for nearly half (49.9 percent) of all applications, up from 45.1 percent a week earlier.
Back in early September, the refinance share of applications had slipped to just one-third of all activity.
Meanwhile, interest rates were a bit of a mixed bag, with the 30-year fixed falling to 6.16 percent from 6.24 while the one-year ARM increased three basis points to 6.80 percent.
The 15-year fixed exhibited very little movement as well, falling to 5.87 percent from 5.90 percent a week prior.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of mortgage applications stood at 2.6 percent, up from 2.3 percent the previous week.
The weekly MBA survey covers about half of retail residential mortgage applications, which have surely seen a bump as wholesale lending has been phased out.
HSBC was the latest to exit the now-defunct channel, following the likes of WaMu, Wachovia, Indymac, Bank of America, and many more.
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