Adjusted for Memorial Day, mortgage loan application volumes across the U.S. dropped 3.1 percent last week, having dropped 4 percent the week prior, and were down 13 percent on an unadjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
And while refinancing activity dropped 5 percent, and was 27 percent lower than at the same time last year, purchase loan activity dropped 11 percent and was 24 percent lower than at the same time last year, representing the third straight week of year-over-year declines for the purchase mortgage market.
UPDATE (6/16): While mortgage loan application volume increased 4.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the past week, with a 6 percent increase in refinancing activity and an 11 percent increase for purchases in the absolute, refinancing activity was still down 22 percent on a year-over-year basis with a 17 percent year-over-year drop in purchase activity.
UPDATE: While mortgage loan application volume increased 4.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis over the past week, with a 6 percent increase in refinancing activity and an 11 percent increase for purchases in the absolute, refinancing activity was still down 22 percent on a year-over-year basis with a 17 percent year-over-year drop in purchase activity.