After coming back for a short period, mortgage applications resumed their downward trend in June's second week, according to the ""Mortgage Bankers Association's"":http://mbaa.org/default.htm (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]The Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, fell 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending June 14. On an unadjusted basis, the index dropped 4 percent compared with the previous week.
The Refinance Index decreased 3 percent week-over-week. The refinance share of mortgage activity was unchanged at 69 percent of total applications.
Purchase activity was slightly healthier than refinances. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index fell 3 percent compared to the previous week, while the unadjusted index was down 4 percent (but up 12 percent compared to the same week last year).
At the same time, mortgage rates continued to increase. According to MBA's measure, the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.17 percent, the highest since March 2012. Points fell to 0.41 from 0.48 for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio loans.