The weekly applications report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) wasn’t positive, but it was certainly consistent. MBA said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was down by 3.0 percent across the board during the week ended July 28. The composite index decreased 3.0 percent on both a seasonally adjusted and unadjusted basis. The same percentage decline held for the Refinance Index and both the adjusted and unadjusted Purchase Indices. Applications for refinancing were 32 percent lower than the same week in 2022 and the Purchase Index was down 26 percent year-over-year. [refiappschart] [purchaseappschart] “Mortgage rates edged higher last week, with the 30-year fixed mortgage rate [increasing] to 6.93 percent and leading to another decline in overall applications,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “The purchase index decreased for the third straight week to its lowest level since the beginning of June and remains 26 percent behind last year’s levels. The decline in purchase activity was driven mainly by weaker conventional purchase application volume, as limited housing inventory and rates still close to 7 percent are crimping affordability for many potential homebuyers. The refinance market continues to feel the impact of these higher rates, and applications trailed last year’s pace by over 30 percent with many homeowners not looking for refinance opportunities.”  Highlights from MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey