Mortgage application volume slipped last week as mortgage rates crept ever higher, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.
Home loan apps were off 3.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending August 7, and up just 16.1 percent compared to last year’s dismal results.
The refinance index fell 7.2 percent week-to-week as mortgage rates jumped, and purchases inched up 1.1 percent, their third gain in the past four weeks.
Unfortunately, those gains have been meager, especially deep into the traditional home buying season.
It did push the refinance share of mortgage activity to 52.3 percent of total applications from 54.2 percent a week earlier.
The 30-year fixed averaged 5.38 percent during the week, up from 5.17 percent a week earlier.
The 15-year fixed climbed to 4.71 percent from 4.60 percent, and the one-year ARM increased four basis points to 6.71 percent.
Despite grossly out pricing their fixed-rate brethren, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of mortgage activity increased to 5.8 percent from 5.4 percent of total apps.
Earlier this year, the ARM share of apps was hovering around just one percent, so it’s certainly made some healthy gains.
The MBA’s weekly survey covers roughly half of all retail residential loan applications.
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