Mortgage Applications Decline Over Thanksgiving Holiday

Applications for home mortgages fell last week across the U.S., in large part due to the number of business days being truncated by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, an industry group said on Wednesday.

The seasonally adjusted index of total home mortgage applications declined by 3.9 percent in the week ending November 24 to 599, its lowest level since October, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The four-week moving average for the applications index rose by 1.1 percent to 622.8.

Mortgage applications were pulled down by a drop in home loan refinancing. The MBA’s measure of applications strictly for mortgage refinancing dropped a more significant 9.6 percent to 1,749.6, the group said.

Meanwhile, its overall index of applications earmarked for home loans rose for a third week out of the past four, climbing 1.3 percent to 406.7.

According to MSN Money, many noted U.S. economists say such data suggest the worst of the year’s housing market slump has turned the corner. The index had dropped to 375.6, the lowest level in the current downturn, from around 500 a year earlier.

The pace of existing home sales unexpectedly rose in October to a 6.24 million-unit annual rate as lower prices continue to tempt buyers, the National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday. The median home prices declined 3.5 percent from October 2005, marking the largest year-on-year decline since the Realtors began keeping records in 1968.

Long-term, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates last week were unchanged at 6.13 percent, the lowest level since January, according to the group.