Mortgage Apps Turn Down in 1.2% Drop

After moving up for three straight weeks, mortgage application volumes dropped last week as activity fell for both purchases and refinances.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that applications fell 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 23. On an unadjusted basis, application totals were down 2 percent.

On the refinance side, MBA reported a 1 percent week-over-week decline in applications, reversing an upward trend that lasted nearly a month. The refinance share of mortgage activity was unchanged at 52 percent of total applications.

After booming with the start of the housing recovery, refinance demand has waned with the gradual pickup of mortgage rates from last year's all-time record lows.

As of last week, MBA recorded the average 30-year fixed rate at 4.31 percent, a drop from 4.33 percent the week prior. It was the lowest rate since June 2013, the group's records show.

Meanwhile, MBA's seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 1 percent from mid-May. Unadjusted, purchase volumes were down 2 percent, ending the week 15 percent lower than the same time in 2013.