The Mortgage Bankers Association announced that overall mortgage application activity fell 4% the week ending March 29 to the lowest level since March 15. The number of applications for home purchases — a leading indicator of home sales — rose 1.4% but those gains were negated by the seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications, which dropped 5.6%. The MBA survey covers over 75% of retail residential mortgage applications.

The refinance share of total mortgage activity fell to 74% last week from 75% the week before. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity stayed the same at 5% of total applications. The HARP share of refinance applications fell from 29% two weeks ago to 28% last week.

During the same time, the average contract rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($417,500 or less) fell last week to 3.76% from 3.79% the week before. The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with jumbo loan balances (over $417,500) went from 3.90% to 3.85%. Thirty-year fixed-rate mortgages for loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration went from 3.51% to 3.48%.