Mortgage applications declined slightly on a seasonally adjusted basis last week but plummeted on an unadjusted basis during the July 4th week. The week’s results include an additional adjustment to account for the holiday. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said its Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier but lost 20.0 percent before adjustment.   The Refinance Index decreased 2.0 percent from the previous week but was 28.0 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 34.9 percent of total applications from the previous 35.7 percent. [refiappschart] The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index managed a 1.0 percent gain while the unadjusted Purchase Index dropped 19.0 percent.  The purchase index was 13.0 percent lower than the same week one year ago. [purchaseappschart] “The recent uptick in mortgage rates has slowed demand. Mortgage applications were essentially flat last week, as mortgage rates remained around 7 percent,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist. “Purchase activity picked up slightly, driven primarily by increases in FHA and VA applications. Refinance applications decreased for the fourth consecutive week, in line with higher rates. Although home equity gains have been significant in recent years, most borrowers do not have much of an incentive to refinance at current rates. ”