Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell last week, as interest rates held steady, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, declined by a seasonally adjusted 3.3% in the week ending March 18 to 465.2. That follows a fall of 3.3% to 481.3 in the preceding week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances dipped to 3.93% from 3.94% in the preceding week.
Refinance volume weakened further, down 5% from the previous week.
"There are fewer borrowers remaining who are able to benefit from low rates," said Lynn Fisher, MBA's vice president of research and economics.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.