Mortgage Purchase And Refinancing Applications Fall

Purchase applications for home mortgages fell a seasonally adjusted 2 percent in the May 25 week. The fifth consecutive weekly decline shrank the year-on-year gain in purchase applications to 2 percent. Continuing to show greater sensitivity to higher interest rates, applications for refinancing decreased 5 percent from the prior week to the lowest level since December 2000, with the refinance share of mortgage activity declining to 35.3 percent. The average interest rate on 30-year fixed rate conforming mortgages ($453,100 or less) was 4.84 percent, down 2 basis points from the 7-year high set in the prior week