Weekly Mortgage Applications Dropped Again

Mortgage applications to buy a home dropped for the third consecutive week, to the lowest reading in a month. Total volume for these loan applications went down 2.5 percent week-over-week.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted report, volume for homebuyers was down 3 percent for the week with only 1 percent YoY growth. "Application activity remained slow, which is in line with weak trends in other housing indicators such as home sales and housing starts," Joel Kan, MBA vice president of economic and industry forecasting, tells CNBC. Home sales have been diminishing for months as affordability remains tight.

Despite the drop, the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 37.1 percent of total applications from 36.8 percent the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity increased to 6.4 percent of total applications ... "Rates rose slightly last week due to easing trade tensions between the U.S. and Europe, and signals on Japanese and European monetary policy," said Kan. Mortgage rates moved higher again to start this week but then fell back Tuesday. Volatility could increase at the end of the week, when the monthly employment figures are scheduled for release.

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