Would-be buyers are hard-pressed to find enough homes for sale<\/a> this spring, and that is chipping away at the number of mortgage<\/a> applications lenders<\/a> are processing, CNBC reports. Total mortgage applications, including those for refinancing and home purchases, dropped 3.4 percent week over week on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday. The MBA\u2019s mortgage application index is now 14 percent lower than a year ago.<\/p>\n “Home sales remain constrained by a lack of inventory across the country, as evidenced by home price<\/a> growth running almost three times the pace of overall inflation,” says Michael Fratantoni, chief economist for the MBA.<\/p>\n Applications to buy a home dropped 1 percent last week. Over the last four weeks, in the height of the spring market, purchase applications have decreased 5 percent. Still, purchase applications remain 7 percent higher than a year ago.<\/p>\n Refinance applications fell 6 percent during the week and are now 31 percent lower than the same week a year ago, the MBA reports. Mortgage rates were lower last year, and this year\u2019s higher rates have decreased incentives for owners to refinance.<\/p>\n The average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remained at 4.17 percent last week, holding the same average as the previous week, the MBA reports.<\/p>\n Source: \u201cWeekly Mortgage Applications Fall 3.4% as Homebuyers Find Little for Sale,\u201d CNBC (May 31, 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [ad_2]![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realtormag.realtor.org\/sites\/realtormag.realtor.org\/files\/rmo_files\/images\/2017_may\/Mortgage_Activity_053117.png\")
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