Having ticked down 2 percent last week with the traditional spring buying/selling season underway, mortgage loan application volume across the U.S. has since dropped another 5 percent in the absolute, or 5.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, with a 5 percent drop in refinancing activity and a 4 percent drop in purchase activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
And while the average rate for a benchmark 30-year mortgage is nearing a 10-month high, which has dropped refinancing activity, which is now down 20 percent on a year-over-year basis, to a six-month low, keep in mind that the average 30-year rate is still lower than it was at the same time last year and around half the average rate over the past 30 years.