Mortgage applications dipped slightly last week, falling 0.3 percent from a week earlier, according to the latest report released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The Refinance Index decreased 1 percent last week, but was 225 percent higher than the same week one year ago – driven by historically low interest rates. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 3 percent compared with the previous week and was 31 percent lower than the same week one year ago.
“Mortgage applications were essentially unchanged last week, as a slight drop in refinance activity was offset by a 2 percent increase in purchase applications,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting. “California and Washington, two states hit hard by COVID-19, saw another week of rising activity – partly driving the overall increase.”
California experienced a 2.9 percent increase in applications from the week before, though was 47.9 percent below 2019 levels for the same week. There was a 12.3 percent increase in Washington, which was 45.8 percent below 2019.
In New York, there was an 8.3 percent decrease from the week before after a one-week climb. New York remains 59.2 percent below 2019 levels.See the full report here.