US mortgage demand fell last week

U.S. home loan demand fell sharply in the week ended Feb. 11, recording a second consecutive weekly decline, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

The total loan applications index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 9.5 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from a week earlier.

The refinancing loans index fell 11.4 percent from the previous week, the lowest since the week ending July 3, 2009. The purchasing index dropped 5.9 percent.

Mortgage rates remained above 5 percent last week, up almost a full percentage point from their October lows, and refinance volume continued to drop,” said Michael Fratantoni, vice president, research and economics, MBA.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 64 percent of total applications from 66.6 percent in the previous week, posting a fourth straight weekly fall.

While the average contract interest rates for 30-year fixed rate mortgage decreased to 5.12 percent from 5.13 percent in the previous week, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.34 percent from 4.29 percent.