Refinance lower despite interest rates fall

Mortgage applications decreased 5.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 31, 2020.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 5 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 7 percent from the previous week and was 84 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent compared with the previous week and was 22 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 63.9 percent of total applications from 65.1 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity decreased to 3.1 percent of total applications.

The FHA share of total applications remained unchanged from 9.6 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications remained unchanged from 11.2 percent the week prior. The USDA share of total applications remained unchanged from 0.6 percent the week prior.