In the week ending January 30, the average contract rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages on conforming loans of $806,500 or less in the United States decreased slightly to 6.21%, down from the previous week's four-week high of 6.24%, as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Despite this small reduction in interest rates, mortgage applications experienced an 8.9% decline, following an 8.5% decrease the prior week. Refinancing applications decreased by 4.7%, subsequent to a significant 15.7% drop, while the purchase index fell 14.4%, after a minor 0.4% dip.