Mortgage Purchase Applications, Refinancing Increase

Mortgage applications activity increased in the August 26 week but not much on the buyer side, with purchase applications for home mortgages up 1 percent from the prior week and refinancing up 4 percent. Purchase applications were now only 5 percent higher than in the year ago week as the slowdown in annual growth continues despite the boost from mortgage rates that are about 0.25 percentage points lower and not far from record lows. The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages on conforming loans ($417,000 or less) was unchanged from the prior week at 3.67 percent.