Mortgage applications fall 2.9 percent despite best rates in decades

Home loan applications down 2.9 pct.

WASHINGTON — Applications for home loans dipped last week even though consumers were able to refinance at the lowest rates in decades.

The Mortgage Bankers Associations says overall applications decreased nearly 3 percent from a week earlier. That incorporates an adjustment for the Independence Day holiday.

Applications to refinance home loans were down 2.9 percent. Applications taken out to purchase homes fell 3.1 percent, the lowest level since December 1996.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan sank to 4.57 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. That was the lowest since the mortgage company began keeping records in 1971.