New Mortgage Activity Decreased Last Week: MBA

Mortgage applications decreased for the week ending May 15, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

Applications decreased a seasonally adjusted 1.5% from the week before, though on an unadjusted basis the application index decreased 2%. Purchases dropped a seasonally adjusted 4%, back to levels seen in April, though the unadjusted rate was 11% higher than the year before.

"The level of purchase applications remained 11% higher than the same week last year, but the drop this week may indicate borrowers being wary of the recent run-up in mortgage rates," said MBA's chief economist Mike Fratantoni in a press release.

Unsurprisingly given the current interest environment, refinance applications grew 0.3% from the week before, climbing to a 52% share of all applications. Adjustable-rate mortgage activity also increased as a share of mortgages activities, up to 6.4%.

Average interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were 4.04% while 15-year fixed-rate mortgages typically ran 3.26%.