Mortgage demand falls to lowest level since 2018, even as interest rates ease

Mortgage demand slipped to the lowest level since December 2018, even after rates declined slightly last week.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 1% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 14% lower than the same week one year ago.

Despite a slight decline, mortgage rates are significantly higher than they were at the start of this year.

This as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances ($647,200 or less) decreased to 5.33% from 5.46% with points…