A decline in refinancing applications offset the gain in purchase activity, leading to an overall drop in application activity of 0.4% from one week earlier.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Sept. 29 found that the refinance index decreased 2%
The refinance application share decreased to 50.1% from 50.8% the previous week.
The seasonally adjusted purchase index increased 1% from last week, while the unadjusted purchase index increased 1% compared with the previous week and was 5% higher than the same week one year ago.
On an unadjusted basis, the market composite index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 1% compared with the previous week.
Adjustable-rate loan application activity decreased to 6% from 6.5%, while the share for Federal Housing Administration-guaranteed loans increased to 10% from 9.6%.
The share of applications for Veterans Affairs-guaranteed loans remained unchanged at 10% and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Rural Development share increased to 0.8% from 0.7%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($424,100 or less) increased 1 basis point to 4.12%. For 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (greater than $424,100), the average contract rate increased 3 basis points to 4.09%.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the FHA increased 1 basis point to 3.99%, while for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages the average increased 4 basis points to 3.42%.
The average contract interest rate for 5/1 ARMs decreased to 3.3% from 3.38%.
