The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced on Wednesday that the mortgage
application volume in the U.S. plunged 6.0 per cent in the week ended September
29, following a 1.3 per cent drop the week before. That marked the steepest weekly drop in mortgage applications
since the week ended April 14 (-8.8 per cent).
According to the MBA’s data, last week’s decline in mortgage
applications reflected
a 6.6 per cent drop in mortgage refinance applications and a 0.9 per cent fall in
mortgage applications to purchase a home.
The report also showed that the average fixed 30-year mortgage rate jumped from
7.41 per cent to 7.53 per cent, the highest level since the week ended November
20, 2000 (7.60 per cent).
Commenting on the latest survey results, Joel Kan, MBA's vice president
and deputy chief economist, noted that mortgage rates continued to move higher
last week as markets digested the recent upswing in Treasury yields. “As a
result, mortgage applications ground to a halt, dropping to the lowest level
since 1996,” he added.