Mortgage loan application volume in the U.S. dropped 4 percent over the past week, or 3.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
While the drop was driven by a 5 percent decrease in refinancing activity, which was down 8 percent on a year-over-year basis last week, purchase mortgage activity dropped 2 percent in the absolute as well.
As such, purchase mortgage activity across the U.S. is now 19 percent lower than it was at the same time last year having been down 18 percent on a year-over-year over the previous four weeks and despite an increase, not decrease, in existing-home inventory.
And while new home inventory is nearing a 13-year high in the U.S., mortgage application volumes for new home purchases were down 27.4 percent on a year-over-year basis in July.
UPDATE: Mortgage loan application volumes in the U.S. ticked up 1 percent over the past week. And while that included a bump in both purchase and refinancing activity, purchase mortgage activity was still 16 percent lower than it was at the same time last year.
UPDATE: Purchase mortgage activity ticked down another 2 percent over the past week and remains 16 percent lower than it was at the same time last year.