According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Applications Survey, the average contract interest rate declined last week for all loan products in the survey, including 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with both jumbo and conforming balances, 15-year mortgages, and those backed by the FHA. That marks the fourth consecutive week average mortgage rates have fallen. Despite the rate drops, however, overall demand for mortgage-loan applications was relatively flat, increasing just 0.4 percent. The Refinance Index was up 3 percent over the previous week while the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index – a leading indicator of home sales – fell 4 percent. The MBA’s survey covers more than 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications and has been conducted weekly since 1990. More here.