Mortgage Applications Dip in U.S. Amidst Rising Rates

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 16, 2018, mortgage applications in the U.S. decreased 6.6 percent from one week earlier. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 6.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index decreased 7 percent from the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 1 percent compared with the previous week and was 3 percent higher than the same week one year ago.