Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell for the second straight week last week, even as interest rates moved lower, 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 4.8% in the week ending February 26 to 496.5. That follows a drop of 4.3% to 521.5 in the preceding week.
Applications to refinance decreased 7% from the previous week, seasonally adjusted, falling to the lowest level since the start of the year.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched down to 3.83% from 3.85% in the preceding week.
"Despite a slight drop in rates, refinance applications decreased overall. Applications for both conventional and government refinance loans decreased, as the supply of borrowers who could benefit from rates at this level begins to diminish," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president for forecasting and industry surveys.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.