Mortgage Applications Drying Up Rapidly as Rates Rise, Economy Slows

Mortgage Applications Drying Up Rapidly as Rates Rise, Economy Slows

Mortgage application volume declined again last week. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of that volume, decreased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended August 12, giving back its tiny gains over the previous two weeks. On an unadjusted basis, the Index lost 3 percent. The Refinance Index fell 5 percent to its lowest level since November 2020 and was 82 percent below the same week in 2021. Refinancing applications made up 31.2 percent of the total compared to 32.0 percent the previous week. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index retreated 1 percent and was down 2 percent on an unadjusted basis. Purchase applications lagged those during the same week in 2021 by 18 percent. [purchaseappsc