Mortgage Application Volumes Continue To Fall

Mortgage application volumes fell 9.3 percent in the week ended June 20, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) weekly application survey. Overall applications were down 25.3 percent compared with the same week in 2007.

Applications declined 9.3 percent, on the heels of an 8.7 decline in the previous week as fewer consumers sought out new loans and refinanced mortgages.

The report further emphasizes the depth of the turmoil the U.S housing market is currently experiencing, with stringent lending standards and an unwieldy supply of homes for sale preventing the sector from rebounding out of its two-year-long slump.

Refinancing applications made up 36.3 percent of all activity last week, down from 37.4 percent the previous week. Adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 8.5 percent of all applications, down from 9.7 percent.

The MBA's survey covers half of all U.S retail residential mortgage applications.