With mortgage rates almost flat, activity drops

Freddie Mac says the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.03 percent for the week, up from last week’s 5.00 percent but way below 6.46 percent last year at this time.

And the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest report is that loan application volume for the week ending Oct. 23 dropped 12.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.   On an unadjusted basis, the decrease was 2.8 percent compared with the previous week, which included the Columbus Day holiday.