US mortgage applications sink by nearly 11%

US mortgage applications continued to decline over the last week of October, according to data out on Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association, as mortgage rates remained elevated.

The MBA Market Composite Index, which tracks weekly mortgage loan application volumes across the country, fell by 10.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis over the week to 1 November.

This followed a 0.1% decline the week before and marked the sixth straight week of falling applications after five straight weeks of increases from mid-August to mid-September.

Applications for refinancing dropped by 19% last week, while those for purchasing fell by a lesser 5%, the MBA said.

According to the MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist Joel Kan, volatile 10-year Treasury yields continued to put upward pressure on mortgage rates.

"The 30-year fixed rate last week increased to 6.81%, the highest level since July,” Kan said.

“Applications decreased for the sixth consecutive week, with purchase activity falling to its lowest level since mid-August and refinance activity declining to the lowest level since May. The average loan size on a refinance application dropped below $300,000, as borrowers with larger loans tend to be more sensitive to any given changes in mortgage rates.”