The seasonally adjusted volume of applications to secure a purchase mortgage loan for a home in the U.S. ticked down another (1) percent over the past week. As such, purchase mortgage activity was 44 percent lower than at the same time last year and at a 9-year low, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
And while the number of applications to refinance an existing mortgage ticked up 5 percent over the past week with a slight drop in rates, the volume was still 86 percent lower than at the same time last year and lower than average over the past couple of months as well.