Mortgage applications

Loan activity overall came in higher for the second week in a row, with interest rates flattened following an extended volatile period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

A significant fallback in rates brought some borrowers back to the table but cooled interest in adjustable-rate loans, which had surged throughout October, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Despite the 10% jump in adjustable-rate mortgages, a decline in federally sponsored application volumes dragged overall numbers lower for the fifth time in six weeks, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The median monthly amount on new purchase applications fell for the first time since early summer, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Despite the overall decline, refinances saw an uptick even as rates approached 8%, with volumes up in both conventional and government-sponsored markets, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Adjustable-rate mortgages nabbed their largest share of activity in almost a year, as the 30-year conforming average inched closer to 8%, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

As housing-industry groups sought relief from the Federal Reserve, overall loan-application volumes eked out a weekly gain last week thanks to ARM activity, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Loan activity fell for a second consecutive week, dropping to levels last seen in 1996, as a potential government shutdown loomed.

On a week-to-week basis, new application activity fell by 1.3%, with purchase volume off 2%, the Mortgage Bankers Association found.

A continued slowdown in refinances, though, drove overall loan-application volumes lower last week, even as the Government Index posted a small gain, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.