Home Purchase Mortgage Applications Fall

Washington, DC, July 14, 2010--Mortgage-loan applications for home purchases fell to their lowest level in 14 years last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Application volume for mortgages to purchase fell to a seasonally adjusted 3.1% for the week ending July 9, compared with the week before, pushing volume to its lowest since December 1996, the MBA said.

Applications for refinancing fell a non-seasonally adjusted 2.9% for the week ending July 9, compared with the week before. Refinance applications were almost 79% of all applications.

Experts said one reason for the plunge in purchase applications was the end of the home-buyer tax credit.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.69% last week, up just slightly from 4.68% the previous week. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.12%, up slightly from 4.11%.