“Mortgage
applications
fell
to
their
lowest
level
since
May,
with
both
purchase
and
refinance
activity
declining
over
the
week.
There
is
still
plenty
of
uncertainty
surrounding
the
economy
and
job
market,
which
is
weighing
on
prospective
homebuyers’
decisions,”
said

Joel
Kan,
MBA’s
vice
president
and
deputy
chief
economist.
“The
30-year
fixed

rate
was
little
changed
at
6.83%,
but
high
enough
that
there
was
not
much
interest
in
refinancing,
pushing
the

refinance
index
lower
for
the
third
straight
week.

Purchase
applications
decreased
by
almost
6%,
as
applications
for
conventional,


FHA,
and


VA
purchase
loans
fell,
despite
slowing
home-price
growth
and
increasing
levels
of
for-sale
inventory
in
many
regions.”

The
refinance
index
decreased
by
1%
from
the
previous
week
and
was
30%
higher
than
the
same
week
one
year
ago.
The
refinance
share
of
mortgage
activity,
however,
increased
to
40.7%
of
total
applications
from
last
week’s
39.6%.

The
seasonally
adjusted
purchase
index
decreased
6%
from
the
previous
week.
The
unadjusted
purchase
index
decreased
6%
compared
with
the
previous
week
and
was
17%
higher
than
the
same
week
one
year
ago.

By
product,
the
adjustable-rate
mortgage
(ARM)
share
of
activity
increased
to
8.3%
of
total
applications.
The
FHA
share
of
total
applications
increased
to
18.8%
from
18.7%
the
week
prior.
The
VA
share
of
total
applications
decreased
to
12.2%
from
12.6%
the
week
prior,
and
the


USDA
share
of
total
applications
remained
unchanged
at
0.6%.

The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
30-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
with
conforming
loan
balances
decreased
to
6.83%
from
6.84%
and
30-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
with
jumbo
loan
balances
decreased
to
6.74%
from
6.75%.

The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
30-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
backed
by
the
FHA
increased
to
6.56%
from
6.52%.
The
average
contract
interest
rate
for
15-year
fixed-rate
mortgages
decreased
to
6.12%
from
6.14%,
and
5/1
ARMs
increased
to
6.22%
from
6.01%.