The industry group said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended May 30 dropped 15.3 percent to 502.3 -- its lowest level since the week ended April 19, 2002.
The U.S. housing market is suffering one of the worst downturns in its history. Significantly tighter lending standards and an unwieldy supply of homes for sale are just some of the factors preventing the U.S. housing market from recovering from its two-year-long slump.
The souring of demand for home loans last week may be tied to sharply higher interest rates on mortgages.