Mortgage applications plummeted once again, falling 8.8% from the week prior, the Mortgage Bankers Association posted.
Refinancing and purchase applications did little to revive the decline suffered last week.
The refinance index tumbled 12%, the largest single week drop in refinance applications this year, from the previous week to the lowest level since December 2012.
For the second week in a row, the seasonally adjusted purchase index dropped 3%, the industry trade group said.
“Refinance applications fell for the third straight week bringing the refinance index to its lowest level since December 2012 as mortgage rates increased to their highest level in a year,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.
He explained, “Rates rose in response to stronger economic data and an increasing chance that the Fed may soon begin to taper their asset purchases.”
Meanwhile, the refinance share of overall mortgage activity inched down to 71% of total applications, compared to 74% the prior week.
The adjustable-rate mortgage share of activity slightly increased to 5% of all mortgage applications.
The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage with a conforming loan balance skyrocketed to 3.90%, the highest rate since May 2012, from 3.78%,