U.S. mortgage applications fall as borrowing costs slip: MBA

[February 06, 2019]  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications fell for a third consecutive week even as some 30-year home borrowing costs declined to their lowest levels since April 2018 in line with lower bond yields, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

A home "SOLD" sign hangs in front of a house in Vienna, in Virginia March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing

The Washington-based group's seasonally adjusted index on mortgage activity decreased 2.5 percent at 378.9 in the week ended Feb. 1. Three weeks earlier, it reached an 11-month high at 411.8, raising hopes of a revival in the housing market that decelerated when mortgage rates rose to their highest in about 8-1/2 years in late 2018.

(Reporting by Richard Leong)

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