Mortgage Purchase And Refinancing Applications Fall

Rates are low but have been lower and the recent climb has pulled the refinance index down the last two weeks, sinking 15.0 percent in the September 20 week after the prior week's 4.0 percent decline. The purchase index, which is less sensitive to short-term movement in rates, fell 3.0 percent following a 6.0 percent gain in the prior week. Yet the year-on-year gain for purchase applications, at 9.0 percent, is a positive indication for underlying home sales. Conventional 30-year mortgages, hitting a low of 3.82 percent early in September, averaged 4.02 percent in the latest week.