Mortgage Applications Dipped Last Week

Applications for U.S. home mortgages dipped last week as refinance demand sagged, though activity in home purchases picked up, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, fell 1.2% in the week ended March 2.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications was down 2.0%, but the gauge of loan requests for home purchases gained 2.1%.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity fell to 77.0% of applications, the lowest level since December, from 77.9% the previous week.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 4.06%, off 1 basis point from 4.07% the week before.

The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.