Mortgage application volume fell 9.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending June 20 to the lowest level since the last week of 2001, according to the MBA’s latest survey.
On an unadjusted basis, the index was also down 9.3 percent from a week earlier and off a whopping 25.3 percent from the same week a year ago.
The decline in applications was led by a 12.1 percent drop in refinance activity, an 11.1 percent slip in FHA loan applications, and a 7.4 percent decrease in purchase activity.
The refinance share of applications slipped further to 36.3 percent from 37.4 percent, despite the fact that interest rates saw improvement across the board.
The traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.39 percent from 6.57 percent, while the 15-year fixed dipped to 5.95 percent from 6.14 percent.
The one-year adjustable-rate mortgage also improved, averaging 7.09 percent, down from 7.22 percent one week earlier.
However, the ARM share of total applications tumbled to 8.5 percent from 9.7 percent, as most consumers continued to seek the comfort of fixed-rate products.
New Home Sales Slip in May
Meanwhile, the sale of new homes fell a further 2.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 512,000, off 40.3 percent compared to a year earlier, according to a Commerce Dept. reported released today.
The median sales price fell to $231,000, down 5.7 percent from a year earlier, while the supply of new homes for sale rose to 10.9 months, up from 10.7 months in April.
(photo: zoezolka)
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