The Mortgage Bankers Association said that total mortgage application volume decreased 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the previous week, CNBC.com reported. Volume was 13.5 percent lower than the same week one year ago. Applications to refinance a home mortgage fell 2 percent for the week and were 28 percent lower than the same week one year ago, when interest rates were lower. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 37.2 percent of total applications from 37.6 percent the previous week. More than half of all homeowners with a mortgage today have rates below 4 percent, according to CoreLogic. Home equity lines of credit are increasing as refinances decrease. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($453,100 or less) decreased to 4.79 percent last week from 4.84 percent the previous week, with points decreasing to 0.41 from 0.42 (including the origination fee) for 80 percent loan-to-value ratio (LTV) loans.
