Mortgage App Volume Slumps as Purchase Index Hits 13-Year Low: MBA

Due to a drop in both purchase and refinance activity, mortgage loan application volume fell 2.9 percent for the week ending July 9, 2010, the ""Mortgage Bankers Association"":http://www.mortgagebankers.org/default.htm (MBA) reported Wednesday.

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According to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the purchase index dipped 3.1 percent from previous week. This, the association said, was the lowest purchase index observed in the survey since December 1996.

In addition, MBA said the refinance index fell 2.9 percent from one week to the next. Despite this drop, the refinance share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 78.7 percent of total applications.

The overall decline in mortgage application volume was accompanied by a minor week-to-week uptick in mortgage interest rates.

According to MBA, the average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages inched up to 4.69 percent from 4.68 percent, and the average rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages edged up to 4.12 percent from 4.11 percent.