Mortgage applications for home purchases remained flat for another week while applications to refinance an existing mortgage plummeted according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 21st, 2014.

The Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume including purchase applications and refinance applications, tumbled a seasonally adjusted 8.5 percent last week after declining by 4.1 percent the previous week.

On an unadjusted basis, mortgage loan application volume decreased by seven percent from the previous week.

Purchase Applications:

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index declined by four percent after posting a six percent decrease the week before and is at its lowest level since 1995. The unadjusted Purchase Index was 0.1 percent higher than the previous week but was still 15 percent lower than at the same time a year ago.

Applications to purchase homes have been at or lower than the previous year’s levels for the past twenty-one weeks.

“Purchase applications were little changed on an unadjusted basis last week, but this is the time of a year we would expect a significant pickup in purchase activity, and we are not yet seeing it,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Chief Economist.

Refinance Applications:

The Refinance Index declined by 11 percent from the previous week after posting a three percent decline the week before. The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to 58 percent of total applications from 61 percent the week before.

Mortgage Interest Rates:
 

 
The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained at about eight percent of total applications.

Tags: MBA, home purchase applications, mortgage rates, fixed rate mortgage, adjustable rate mortgage, refinance, interest rate, FHA mortgage rates

Source:
Mortgage Bankers Association

Reported by Chris Moore