Both home purchase and mortgage refinancing applications plummeted in the final two weeks of 2012, an industry trade group said Thursday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association combined data for the two-week period ending Dec. 28 and reported a 21.6% decline from the week ending Dec. 14.
Adjustments also were made for the Christmas Holiday.
Refinancing applications alone fell 23.3%, or back to April levels, when compared to the week ending Dec. 14.
The purchase index, which measures new home purchase application volumes, declined 14.8% from two weeks earlier, but still represented 82% of all applications filed.
Meanwhile, mortgage rates remained mixed with the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance increasing slightly to 3.52% from 3.51%. The 30-year, FRM jumbo loan fell back to 3.75% from 3.77% two weeks earlier.
The average contract interest rate for a 30-year, FRM backed by the FHA declined to 3.34% from 3.35%, while the 15-year, FRM grew to 2.86% from 2.84%.
The 5/1 ARM fell to 2.65% from 2.66%.
