Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell last week, despite lower interest rates, 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 4.0% in the week ending August 12 to 541.5. That follows a gain of 7.1% to 564.0 in the preceding week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched down to 3.64% from 3.65% in the preceding week.
Mortgage refinance activity slumped 4% from the previous week, while home purchase applications also dropped 4% last week.
"Refinance volume continues to tail off as markets recover post Brexit," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.