Real estate purchases drop

Overall mortgage applications decreased by 22.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis and the number of refinancing applications dropped by more than 30 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

The MBA seasonally adjusted purchase index decreased by 9.5 percent to 432.2 from 477.5 the previous week. The seasonally adjusted refinance index decreased by 30.7 percent to 2861.6 from 4126.7 one week earlier.

"The fall in refinance applications this week – down over 30 percent – is not surprising given the approximate 40 basis point increase in mortgage interest rates since roughly the middle of March," said Jay Brinkmann, MBA's VP of research and economics.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 50.4 percent of total applications from 57.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate-mortgage share of activity increased to 29.4 percent of total applications from 28.8 percent one week earlier.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.77 from 5.75 one week earlier. Points including the origination fee increased to 1.33 from 1.27 the previous week for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.08 percent from 5.03 percent the previous week. Points including the origination fee increased to 1.45 from 1.4 one week earlier for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.

The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages increased to 3.53 percent from 3.49 percent one week earlier. Points including the origination fee decreased to 0.97 from 1.04 the previous week for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.

Washington, D.C.-based Mortgage Bankers Association is a national association representing the real estate finance industry.

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