Mortgage Applications Retreat for Fourth Consecutive Week in the Week Ending March 29th

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Friday, March 29tth, the Market Composite Index—a measure of mortgage loan application volume—declined 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.1% compared with the previous week.

The Refinance Index declined 2.0% from one week ago and was 5.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.1% compared with one week ago. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1.0% compared with the previous week but was 13.0% lower than the same week one year ago.

Adding background and analysis to the results of this week’s survey, MBA Vice President and Deputy Economist Joel Kan said:

“Mortgage rates moved lower last week, but that did little to ignite overall mortgage application activity. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined slightly to 6.91%, while the 15-year fixed rate decreased to its lowest level in two months at 6.35%. Elevated mortgage rates continued to weigh down on home buying. Purchase applications were unchanged overall, although FHA purchases did pick up slightly over the week. Refinance applications decreased to fall 5% below last year’s pace.”