Mortgage applications fall to 11-month low

By Julie Haviv 52 minutes ago

U.S. mortgage applications fell to an 11-month low last week on a drop in demand for loans to buy homes, suggesting a slowdown in the housing market, according to industry data on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week to December 16 fell 4.0 percent to 594.6 from 619.3 the week before.

The group's seasonally adjusted index of applications for mortgages to buy homes fell 5.2 percent to 453.1 from the previous week's 477.9.

The index is considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales.