Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell for the second straight week last week, as interest rates pushed higher, 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 3.4% in the week ending April 29 to 488.4. That follows a decline of 4.1% to 505.4 in the preceding week.
Refinance applications dropped 6% from the previous week, seasonally adjusted.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched up to 3.87% from 3.85% in the preceding week.
"Refinance activity decreased for the second-straight week because fewer borrowers have an incentive to refi at the current level of rates, but there are still some who respond to the small changes we have seen in recent weeks," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.