Mortgage applications down 1 percent in September

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. mortgage activity dropped 1 percent from August to September, despite increases in the busiest states, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.

The MBA said mortgage activity rose in Texas, Florida and California by 5.6 percent, 1.6 percent and 15.5 percent, respectively. From a year earlier, however, the three states posted rates that included gains in Texas and Florida of 12.4 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively, but a drop in California of 5.1 percent.

The average size of new loans rose month to month from $284,392 to $289,650, the MBA said.

The MBA estimated 459,000 new, single family homes were sold in September on an annual, seasonally adjusted basis, an increase that suggests the cash share of home purchase transactions rose, given the 1 percent decline in mortgage activity.

In the week that ended Friday, Oct. 4, mortgage applications rose 1.3 percent compared to the previous week, while refinancing rose 3 percent, the MBA said.