Mortgage applications to purchase a home dropped 6 percent last week from the previous week, and volume was 44 percent lower than the same week one year ago, bringing it to a 28-year low. The trends occur as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances is at 6.71 percent, up from 6.62 percent. Applications to refinance a home loan fell 6 percent for the week and were 74 percent lower year over year.