Mortgage applications plunged as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate inched higher toward 7 percent, a weekly industry survey discovered.
For the week ended Feb. 17, the seasonally adjusted Market Composite Index—a measurement of mortgage loan application volumes—declined 13.3 percent, down from the 7.7 percent drop in the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Mortgage applications fell 4 percent on an unadjusted basis.
The Purchase Index plummeted 18 percent, to a 25-year low, while the Refinance Index tumbled 2 percent. Both indexes were down 72 percent and 41 percent, respectively, from a year ago.
This comes as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased 23 basis points, to 6.62 percent, the highest since the middle of November. This is up from 6.39 percent in the previous week, and represented the second consecutive weekly jump….