Highlights
Mortgage applications for purchases fell 7.0 percent in the Feb. 5 week extending a string of choppy week-to-week movements. Applications for refinancing rose 1.3 percent. The Mortgage Bankers Association has been warning that refinancing volume is likely to decline as the Federal Reserve winds down its purchases of mortgage-backed securities. Mortgage rates fell in the week with the average 30-year loan down 7 basis points at 4.94 percent.