Mortgage applications

Loan volumes fell for the third straight week, with depressed demand for government lending driving activity downward, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage application activity had its largest decline in a year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The contract rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage increased 7 basis points in the week ended Feb. 9 to 6.87%, the highest since early December, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Wednesday. 

While refinances shot up, purchase lending saw a second weekly pullback according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Aspiring buyers took out fewer loans last week, leading to the overall decline, but the average purchase-loan size also surged to its highest mark since last spring, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Home buying demand propelled overall volumes to a third straight weekly gain, as refinances fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Lending activity among builders surged over 22% annually in December, but the growing share of FHA-backed borrowing in the segment took a step back for the first time in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The index of mortgage applications to buy a home increased 9.2% in the week ended Jan. 12 to 162.2, the highest since July 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Navy Federal, the nation's largest credit union, is facing a lawsuit about its allegedly discriminatory mortgage lending practices.

Both purchases and refinances contributed to the weekly surge, with growth in government-backed volumes outpacing the overall market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.