Mortgage Applications See Post-Holiday Drop

Mortgage applications reversed course again last week, undoing any gains recorded for the adjusted July 4 week.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), total mortgage loan application volumes decreased 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending July 11.

Including adjustments for the Independence Day holiday, volumes had increased 1.9 percent the week prior, interrupting a string of weekly declines that lasted through most of June.

Breaking down the overall decline, the refinance component of MBA's market index fell 0.1 percent week-over-week, putting a dent in the 0.4 percent rise reported at the start of July.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted measure of purchase applications fell 8 percent week-to-week, dropping to its lowest level since February.

The larger drop in the purchase loan index helped lift the refinance share of total applications to 54 percent.

Removing adjustments, MBA reported a 16 percent weekly pickup in purchase applications, with total volume rising 20 percent to level out the previous week's 19 percent drop.

Mortgage rates saw a minor increase over the week, inching up to an average 4.33 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Points also increased, moving up to 0.20 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.