The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released a report on Wednesday indicating a significant decline in U.S. mortgage applications for the week ending May 24th.
According to the MBA, the Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume, dropped by 5.7 percent last week, following a 1.9 percent increase the previous week.
"Mortgage rates rose for the first time in four weeks, with the 30-year fixed rate climbing to 7.05 percent. All other loan types also experienced rate increases," stated Joel Kan, MBA's Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
"The rise in rates contributed to a reduction in mortgage applications leading into the Memorial Day weekend," he explained. "Both purchase and refinance applications declined, bringing overall activity to its lowest level since early March."
The report detailed that the Refinance Index fell by 14 percent from the previous week, while the Purchase Index saw a 1 percent decrease from the prior week.
