Mortgage Application Volume, Tiny Increase in Purchase Activity Ends 5-Week Slump

Mortgage Application Volume, Tiny Increase in Purchase Activity Ends 5-Week Slump

Only a slight uptick in purchase mortgage applications kept all last week’s volume indicators from falling for the fifth straight time. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended September 9. The results include an adjustment for the observance of Labor Day. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 12 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 4 percent from the previous week and was 83 percent lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 30.2 percent of total applications from 30.7 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purc