New applications for U.S. home loans eased last week for the second week in a row even though 30-year mortgage interest rates decreased slightly, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted market index, a measure of mortgage activity, eased for the week ending Aug. 27 by 0.6 percent to 642.7 from the previous week’s 646.3.
The index has been easing steadily since early July, with the exception of a pop higher by 11.9 percent in the week ended Aug. 13.
The Washington trade group’s purchase index, a gauge of new loan requests for home purchases, also eased last week by 0.1 percent to 443.1 from 443.7 in the prior week. The purchase index remains well above its year-ago level of 396.1.
The group’s seasonally adjusted refinancing index decreased last week by 1.1 percent to 1,804.1 from the previous week’s 1,824.9. The refinancing index stood at 1,981.5 at the same time last year.
Thirty-year mortgage rates, excluding fees, averaged 5.75 percent, down 0.03 percentage point from the previous week and down 0.50 percentage point from a year ago.
Interest rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell 0.02 percentage point last week to 5.11 percent.
Earlier this week, housing industry economists said housing activity in the U.S. will likely moderate in the second half of 2004 along with higher interest rates, although they said activity will remain strong as the economy gains strength.
Mortgage rates are generally expected to rise through the rest of the year, with most economists looking for the Federal Reserve to continue to raise official interest rates after boosting rates in August.
