Mortgage Applications in the US Decrease by 0.7%

According to the recent Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the number of mortgage applications in the United States fell by 0.7% during the week ending December 13.

The survey highlights that the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.75% from the previous 6.67%. This increase in interest rates might be a contributing factor to the decline in overall mortgage application activity, marking the first decrease in five weeks.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index saw a 1% rise to 157.1, while the Refinance Index dropped by 3% to 617.5 from the previous week. Joel Kan, MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, noted that refinance applications decreased largely due to a 17% drop in VA refinances after two weeks of gains.