FX.co ★ U.S. Mortgage Applications Extend Pullback In Week Ended March 22nd

A recent report by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revealed a continued decrease in mortgage applications for the week ending on March 22nd.

The association's Market Composite Index, which measures the volume of mortgage loan applications, indicated a drop of 0.7 percent from the previous week. This comes after a substantial 1.6 percent drop for the preceding week.

Leading this downward trend was the Refinance Index, which declined by 2 percent from its value the week before. Meanwhile, the Purchase Index saw a minor reduction of 0.2 percent from the previous week.

"Mortgage application activities were subdued last week, despite slightly lowered mortgage rates," commented Joel Kan, Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist of the MBA. "Although the 30-year fixed rate marginally declined to 6.93 percent, it wasn't sufficient to boost borrower demand."

Kan further explained, "Decreased rates should theoretically unlock more inventory by diminishing the lock-in effect, but we anticipate this will occur gradually. We predict that rates will approach the 6 percent mark towards the end of the year."

The report from the MBA also highlighted a decline in the refinance share of mortgage activities to 30.8 percent of total applications from 31.2 percent the week prior. Correspondingly, the adjustable-rate mortgage share of total applications also experienced a decrease, settling at 7.0 percent.