Investing.com - The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. fell last week, as uncertainty ahead of the U.K’s Brexit vote discouraged borrowers from seeking mortgages, industry data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Mortgage Bankers Association said their mortgage market index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased by a seasonally adjusted 2.6% in the week ending June 24 to 508.4. That follows a gain of 2.9% to 522.2 in the preceding week.
Applications to refinance home loans fell 2% from the previous week, seasonally adjusted, while mortgage applications to purchase a home dropped 3% for the week.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances inched down to a three-year low of 3.75% from 3.76% in the preceding week.
"The Brexit vote led to a large drop in Treasury rates, about 20 basis points initially and an additional 10 basis points on Monday, before stabilizing somewhat on Tuesday," said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.
The survey covers over 75% of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.