Where have all the home buyers gone ?

MBA - mortgage applications down

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, fell below 5 percent for the first time since the week ended Dec. 18, but U.S. mortgage applications dipped last week.  The MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 5 decreased 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.  On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 0.6 percent compared with the previous week.  The Refinance Index increased 1.4 percent from the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 7.0 percent from one week earlier.  The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1.1 percent compared with the previous week and was 7.5 percent lower than the same week one year ago.  The four week moving average for the seasonally adjusted Market Index is up 3.8 percent.  The four week moving average is up 0.8 percent for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index, while this average is up 4.8 percent  for the Refinance Index.  The refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 69.7 percent of total applications from 69.2 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity remained unchanged at 4.5 percent of total applications from the previous week.