The volume if mortgage applications submitted in the week ending July 9 slipped a seasonally adjusted 2.9% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). At the same time, a separate survey measuring household mortgage application activity soared 10.1%. Both surveys account for the Independence Day holiday weekend. When the MBA adjusted data for the long weekend, the volume of applications submitted for refinance slipped 2.9%, keeping the refinance share of application activity unchanged from last week at 78.7%. At the same time, the volume of applications submitted for purchase mortgages fell 3.1%. It marks the lowest volume of purchase mortgage applications in MBA’s survey since December 1996. On an unadjusted basis, the volume of purchase applications is 43% lower than the same week last year. The Mortgage Maxx index, which adjusts data to reflect the number of households applying for a mortgage, continued its steady increase. Household application activity soared 10.1% in the same week, after rising 7.1% in the week before. It marks the highest level of application activity for the survey since May 2009. Write to Diana Golobay.