Even as interest rates reach their lowest point since March, mortgage demand remains unchanged.

• The interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances decreased from 7.02% to 6.94%.
• The number of mortgage applications to purchase a home increased by 2% during the week, but was 12% lower compared to the same week last year.
• This week, mortgage rates initially rose slightly, but they retreated on Tuesday due to weaker-than-anticipated retail sales data.

Despite the decline in mortgage rates, total mortgage application volume only increased by 0.9% compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted index.

The interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances decreased to 6.94% from 7.02%, with points decreasing to 0.61 from 0.65 (including the origination fee) for loans with a 20% down payment. This is the lowest level since March.

According to Mike Fratantoni, MBA's SVP and chief economist, mortgage rates decreased last week due to the release of the latest inflation data and the FOMC meeting.

Although the weekly rate move caused a 0.4% drop in refinance demand, it was 30% higher than the same week a year ago. Despite this, rates are still slightly higher than they were a year ago.

The number of mortgage applications to purchase a home increased by 2% during the week, but was 12% lower than the same week a year ago. Home sales have slowed down even more recently due to volatile interest rates. The supply of homes for sale is both expensive and scarce.

Despite being 10 percent behind last year's pace, MBA predicts a rise in home sales for the rest of the year due to an increase in inventory, as stated by Fratantoni.

This week, mortgage rates initially rose slightly, but they retreated on Tuesday due to weaker-than-anticipated retail sales data.

Matthew Graham, chief operating officer at Mortgage News Daily, wrote that the American consumer's outlook was less optimistic in a recent report compared to a few months prior.