Refinancing activity takes a hit

For the first time in almost a month, the number of homeowners who submitted applications to refinance their home fell for the week ending July 9.

Refinancing applications slipped 2.9 percent from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Their Weekly Application Survey reported another week of decreasing overall mortgage applications.

That could be because interest rates increased slightly from the previous week. The rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage went up from 4.68 percent to 4.69 percent. There was an equal increase on the interest for 15-year home loans, which increased from 4.11 percent to 4.12 percent. One-year adjustable-rate mortgages were unchanged, holding steady at 7.20 percent.

Even with the decrease in new refinancing activity, those types of applications continued to make up a large majority of all home loans. About 78.7 percent of all mortgage applications were from homeowners looking to refinance, remaining constant with last week’s numbers, said the report.

Falling mortgage rates had put refinancing on a steady climb for three straight weeks, topping off at the highest reported levels since May 2009 for the week ending July 2, said the MBA.