As mortgage rates rose last week, mortgage applications dropped 3 percent, moving to their lowest level since November 2011, the Mortgage Banker’s Association reports. 

Broken out, applications for refinancings—which make up the biggest bulk of MBA’s index—dropped 2 percent from the previous week. However, applications for home purchases edged up 2 percent. Purchase applications—viewed as one of the leading indicators of future home sales—are now 16 percent higher than they were a year ago, MBA reports. 

"Mortgage rates increased by the most in a single week since 2011, and refinance application volume dropped to its lowest level in almost two years," says Mike Fratantoni, MBA's vice president of research and economics. "However, applications for conventional purchase loans picked up... indicating that homebuyers are not yet dissuaded by the increase in mortgage rates."

Source: USA Today