Mortgage application activity continued to slide last week, down 4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, the fourth straight week the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA's) Market Composite Index has fallen. The index, a measure of application volume, contained an additional adjustment to account for the July 4 holiday. On an unadjusted basis the index was down 23 percent from the week ended June 28.

The Refinance Index was down 4 percent from the previous week and refinancing accounted for 64 percent of total applications, a slight week-over-week decline. Thirty-five percent of refinancing applications were for Home Affordable Refinancing loans, up from 34 percent the previous week.

Refinance Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index was 23 percent below that of the previous week and was 5 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

Purchase Index vs 30 Yr Fixed

All average contract interest rates reported from MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey hit near two year high levels and effective rates also all increased. The average contract rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgages (FRM) with a balance of $417,500 or less jumped 10 basis points to 4.68 percent. Points rose to 0.46 from 0.43. The jumbo FRM (balances over $417,500) rose from 4.68 percent to 4.86 percent with points down from 0.38 to 0.37. The rates for both conforming and jumbo FRMs were at the highest level since July 2011.

FHA-backed 30-year FRM were back to September 2011 interest rate levels, increasing 10 basis points to 4.37 percent. Points dropped to 0.39 from 0.44.

The average contract rate for15-year FRM was 3.76 percent with 0.41 point compared to 3.64 percent with 0.44 point the week before. This was the highest rate since July 2011.

Adjustable rate mortgages drew a 7 percent share of mortgage applications during the week, down from 8 percent. The average rate for a 5/1 ARM increased to its highest level since May 2011, 3.40 percent, from 3.33 percent. Points jumped to 0.43 from 0.31.

MBA's survey, which has been conducted since 1990, covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail mortgage applications. Respondents include mortgage bankers, commercial banks, and thrifts. Interest rate data is for loans with an 80 percent loan-to-value ratio and points include the origination fee. The base period and value for all indices is March 16, 1990=100.