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Mortgage application volume declined by 1.9% as of Sept. 3, falling to its lowest level since mid-July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association\u2019s<\/strong> weekly survey published on Wednesday.<\/p>\n On an unadjusted basis, MBA\u2019s index decreased by 3% compared to the previous week.<\/p>\n Pushing the decline was the refinance index, which dipped by 3% from the previous week and was 4% lower than the same week year-over-year, the MBA said.<\/p>\n The seasonally adjusted purchase index also experienced a decline, albeit a marginal one of 0.2% from one week earlier, the report found.<\/p>\n Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist at the MBA, noted that while refinance volume seems to be tapering \u2014 which has been a trend <\/a>in recent months \u2014 purchase activity is also lower than expected.<\/p>\n \u201cEconomic data has sent mixed signals, with slower job growth but a further drop in the unemployment rate in August,\u201d he said. \u201cWe expect that further improvements will lead to a tapering of Fed MBS purchases by the end of the year, which should put some upward pressure on mortgage rates.\u201d Mortgage rates have stayed just above 3% for the past several weeks.<\/p>\n MBA\u2019s survey noted that the refi share of mortgage activity remained unchanged at 66.8% of total applications from the previous week, while the adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share declined by 2.5% of total applications.<\/p>\n Concurrently, FHA\u2019<\/strong>s share of total applications dipped to 10.9% from 11.2%, and VA<\/strong>\u2019s share of applications increased to 10.4% from 9.7% the week prior, the MBA said. The share of USDA <\/strong>applications did not budge, remaining at 0.5%.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($548,250 or less) remained unchanged at 3.03 %, for 80% loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans, the trade group said.<\/p>\n The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loans increased to 3.14% from 3.13%, and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA dipped to 3.07% from 3.09%, the report concluded.<\/p>\n The post Mortgage applications continue downward trend<\/a> appeared first on HousingWire<\/a>.<\/p>\n