Mortgage Application Volume Declines

Washington, DC, Dec. 19, 2012 -- Mortgage application volume dropped 12.8% last week from the prior week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Applications fell 12.3% in the week ended Dec. 14, compared with a week earlier.

The refinance index dropped 13.8% from the previous week and the purchasing index was down 4.8%.

The share of applications filed to refinance an existing mortgage edged down to 83.1%, from 84% a week earlier.

The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.5%, from 3.47%.