Mortgage Applications Down 1.2 Percent

Mortgage application activity was mostly slow and dreary for the week ending Oct. 28, according to the latest Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications.

The Market Composite Index dropped 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week, reaching its lowest level since May; on an unadjusted basis, the index fell two percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 0.4 percent from one week earlier, while the unadjusted Purchase Index took a two percent spill—although it was nine percent higher than the same week one year ago. The Refinance Index dropped by two percent from the previous week, but the refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 62.7 percent of total applications.

Among the federal home loan programs, both the FHA and USDA shares of total applications remained unchanged at 11.1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, while the VA share took a slight uptick to 12.4 percent from last week’s 12.2 percent.