U.S. Mortgage Application Index Down 34 Percent From A Year Ago

August 20, 2008 4:26 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday that mortgage applications for the week ending August 15 fell 1.5 percent from a week earlier.

The association's Market Composite Index, which measures the volume of mortgage applications, fell to 419.3 from 425.9 a week ago. The latest reading marks a 34 percent drop in the mortgage index from levels a year ago.

Lower interest rates have provided no spark in refinancing activity of late. The Refinance Index continues to fall, down 3.7 percent to 1034.5 from last week. Refinancing accounted for 34.8 percent of total applications for the week, slightly lower than the 35.2 percent a week earlier.

The average interest rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage fell to 6.47 percent from 6.57 percent, according to MBA data. The rate for 15 year fixed mortgages fell to 5.99 percent from 6.17 percent.

The Mortgage Bankers Association survey covers roughly 50 percent of U.S. residential mortgage applications. The index is based off a reading of 100 that was established on March 16, 1990, when the index began.