The Mortgage Bankers Association‘s Market Composite Index decreased by 3.5 percent during the week ended Aug. 7 as a jump in interest rates slowed the pace of loan refinancing.
Compared to the same week a year ago, the index was up 16.1 percent.
The refinance share of mortgage application activity fell to 52.3 percent from 54.2 percent the previous week. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan increased to 5.38 percent from 5.17 percent over the same period.
