Mortgage applications fell by 9.5% in the week ended March 18 due to an increase in mortgage rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The MBA seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity fell to 658.8.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications declined 16.5% to 1894.4.

The MBA’s purchase index, a gauge of loan requests for home purchases, dropped 3.5% to 446.4.

Refinancings accounted for 39.5%, down from 42.9% a week earlier.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.95%, up from 5.91% in the previous week.