Mortgage Applications Fell Slightly Last Week

Mortgage application activity declined slightly in the week ending March 2, despite home purchases picking up,an industry group said recently.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications was down 2.0 percent that week; however, loan requests for home purchases rose 2.1 percent.

According to the MBA, the 1.2 percent drop in mortgage application activity is due to a slowing demand for refinancing, which is included in the industry group's calculations. Low interest rates could also be attracting new buyers to the market, as 30 year fixed rate mortgages averaged 4.06 percent that same week.

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Below are last week's mortgage rate averages according to Freddie Mac's market survey:

• 30 year average: 3.88% (w/ .8 pts)
• 15 year average: 3.13%  ( w/ .8 pts)
• 5/1 Treasury Indexed ARM average: 2.81% ( w/ .7 pts)