US MBA mortgage applications w.e. 15 July -6.3% vs -1.7% prior

• Prior -1.7%
• Market index 281.1 vs 300.0 prior
• Purchase index 208.0 vs 224.3 prior
• Refinancing index 655.7 vs 685.3 prior
• 30-year mortgage rate 5.82% vs 5.74% prior

Ouch. That's another steep drop in mortgage activity as both purchases and refinancing activity declined strongly in the past week. For some context, the purchase index is now ~19% lower than the same week a year ago while the refinancing index is down ~80% as compared to that same period. It's not a good look on housing market activity with MBA noting that:

“Mortgage applications declined for the third week in a row, reaching the lowest level since 2000. Similarly, with most mortgage rates more than two percentage points higher than a year ago, demand for refinances continues to plummet, with MBA’s refinance index also falling to a 22-year low.

“Purchase activity declined for both conventional and government loans, as the weakening economic outlook, high inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Read this Term, and persistent affordability challenges are impacting buyer demand. The decline in recent purchase applications aligns with slower homebuilding activity due to reduced buyer traffic and ongoing building material shortages and higher costs.”