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Mortgage applications were on the decline, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 31.

The MBA’s Market Composite Index took a 4.1% drop on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier while the unadjusted index was down by an even 4% compared with the previous week.

The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index was 4% lower from the previous week and the unadjusted Purchase Index was 3% below the previous week’s reading and was 35% lower than the same week one year ago.

The Refinance Index was down by 5% from the previous week and was 59% lower than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 28.6% of total applications from 29.1% in the previous week.

Among the federal loan programs, the FHA share of total applications decreased to 12% from 12.3% the week prior while the VA share of total applications decreased to 11% from 11.6% and the USDA share of total applications increased to 0.6% from 0.5% the week prior.

“Spring has arrived, but the housing market is missing the customary burst in listings and purchase activity that typically mark the season. After four weeks of increasing purchase application activity, volume declined a bit this week even with another small drop in mortgage rates,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s senior vice president and chief economist.

“Additionally,” Frantantoni continued, “refinance application volume continues to be quite low. Although the mortgage rate for conforming balance loans declined by five basis points over the week to 6.40 percent, the mortgage rate for jumbo loans increased by nine basis points to 6.36 percent. While we have seen relative weakness at the high end of the housing market in recent months, the divergence in rates suggests that banks may be tightening credit in response to recent challenges, preserving balance sheet capacity as deposit balances have declined. In recent years, most jumbo loans have been kept on depository balance sheets.”

Fratantoni predicted a “strong demand from first-time homebuyers over the next several years given the large number of millennials hitting peak first-time homebuyer age, but affordability remains a real challenge in this environment.”