The MBA Market Composite Index, which tracks weekly mortgage loan application volumes across the country, fell by 10.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis over the week to 1 November.

This followed a 0.1% decline the week before and marked the sixth straight week of falling applications after five straight weeks of increases from mid-August to mid-September.

Applications for refinancing dropped by 19% last week, while those for purchasing fell by a lesser 5%, the MBA said.

According to the MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist Joel Kan, volatile 10-year Treasury yields continued to put upward pressure on mortgage rates.

"The 30-year fixed rate last week increased to 6.81%, the highest level since July,” Kan said.

“Applications decreased for the sixth consecutive week, with purchase activity falling to its lowest level since mid-August and refinance activity declining to the lowest level since May. The average loan size on a refinance application dropped below $300,000, as borrowers with larger loans tend to be more sensitive to any given changes in mortgage rates.”