US Mortgage Purchase Applications Fell Last Week

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“Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week, dragged lower by a slump in refinancings, but demand for new purchases improved, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, declined 3.8 percent in the week ended April 20.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications dropped 5.6 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases gained 2.7 percent.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity slipped to 73.4 percent of applications from 75.2 percent the week before. Fixed 30-year mortgage rates dipped one basis point to average 4.04 percent from 4.05.

The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.”