Mortgage Application Index Declines

New applications for U.S. home loans eased last week even though average 30-year mortgage rates decreased, an industry group said.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said its seasonally adjusted market index, a measure of all types of mortgage activity, fell 0.8% to 703.9 for the week ended Friday.

The association’s seasonally adjusted index of new refinancing applications rose by 3.6% to 2,233.8, and the gauge of new loan requests for home purchases fell 4.4% last week to 440.9.