Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell for the fourth time in the past five weeks last week, as rising interest rates kept borrowers at bay, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in the week ending November 20 to 419.9. That follows a gain of 6.2% to 433.9 in the preceding week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances dipped to 4.14% from 4.18% in the previous week, which was the highest level since July.
"The 30-year fixed rate has increased almost 20 basis points since a recent low, and the refinance index has decreased in four of the last five weeks," said Michael Fratantoni, the association's chief economist.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.