Your Mortgage : Home Refinancing Drops as Loans to Purchase Increase

Applications to refinance home mortgages dropped 17% in May from April, but applications to purchase homes rose 5% in the same period, reports Foster Ousley Conley, a provider of mortgage quality management services and technologies.

The decline in mortgage refinancing is the first in four months; financing to purchase homes has grown three straight months.

Refinanced mortgage volume encompassed 80% of the market, so total mortgage volume declined by 14% in May, the company said.

“Traditionally more homes are purchased in March and April than other months, so an increase of 5% in May indicates the market is either steady or experiencing some growth,” said Robert Walker, an executive with Foster Ousley Conley. “Applications did decline in the second half of the month.