US mortgage applications fall in latest week: MBA

[NEW YORK] Applications for US home mortgages fell last week and interest rates declined to their lowest level since May 2013, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 3.3 per cent in the week ended Dec 12.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications was unchanged, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 6.9 per cent.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.06 per cent in the week, the lowest since May 2013. They were down 5 basis points from 4.11 per cent the week before.

The survey covers over 75 per cent of US retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.

REUTERS