WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Mortgage applications in the United States dropped last week, as mortgage rate rose in the housing market, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.
For the week ending April 12, MBA's market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped 3.5 percent from a week earlier.
MBA's data also showed that the refinance index, a measurement of mortgage refinance activity, dropped 8 percent from the previous week.
"Mortgage applications decreased over the week, driven by a decline in refinances. With mortgage rates up for the second week in a row, it's no surprise that refinancings slid 8 percent and average loan sizes dropped back closer to normal levels," said Joel Kan, MBA's associate vice president of Economic and Industry Forecasting.
Latest data from the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, showed that the interest rate of 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the United States rose to 4.12 percent for the week ending April 11, up from previous week's 4.08 percent.
Even as the reading inched up, the 30-year FRM rate remained at a low level. For the same period one year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.42 percent.
Meanwhile, MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index edged up 1 percent from one week earlier.
"Purchase activity remained strong and increased slightly, reaching its highest level since April 2010," Kan said, "the spring buying season continues to be robust, with activity more than 7 percent higher than a year ago and up year-over-year for the ninth straight week."
