Mortgage application volume fell 14.2 percent for the week ending April 18, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly report.
On an unadjusted basis, the group’s application index decreased 13.4 percent compared to a week earlier and was down 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago.
The decline in application volume was led by a 20.2 percent drop in refinance activity as rates climbed higher.
The refinance share of applications fell to just 49.2 percent from 53.5 percent a week earlier, despite the fact that purchase activity declined 6.4 percent.
Even FHA loans, which had been widely popular for the last several weeks, declined 2.7 percent from the week prior.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 6.04 percent from 5.74 percent last week, while the 15-year jumped to 5.60 percent from 5.27 percent.
Adjustable-rate mortgages, which made up 6.6 percent of total applications, up from 6.0 percent last week, actually bucked the trend.
The average one-year ARM decreased to 6.93 percent from 7.02 percent, but it still pricing above its fixed-rate brethren.
(photo: myklroventine)
