Applications for purchase loans inched up a seasonally adjusted 1 percent for the week ending Aug. 16 compared to a week earlier and were up 5 percent on an annual basis, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications survey.
Meanwhile, refinance applications continued to trend downward, falling 8 percent during the same period.
The drop in refinance apps came as the average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance of $417,000 or less jumped from 4.56 percent to 4.68 percent.