New applications for US home loans fell last week for a second straight week despite 30-year mortgage interest rates falling to their lowest level in four months.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted market index, a measure of mortgage activity, dipped for the week ending August 6 by 0.7 per cent to 616.1 from the previous week's 620.4.
The Washington trade group's purchase index, a gauge of new loan requests for home purchases, fell last week for the first time in three weeks by 2.7 per cent to 440.0 from 452.0 in the prior week.
But the Washington trade group's seasonally adjusted refinancing index rose after falling for four consecutive weeks. For the week ended August 6th, it rose by 2.5 per cent to 1,640.5 from previous week's 1,600.3.
Thirty-year mortgage rates, excluding fees, averaged 5.80 per cent, down 0.17 percentage point from the previous week and down 0.20 percentage point from a year ago.
The 30-year rates fell to their lowest level since the week of April 9th when they averaged 5.77 per cent.