According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) study of gross mortgage application volume, potential mortgage borrowers presented 4.2% less applications in the week ending March 19, subsequent to previous week's 1.9% drop.

MBA said that the number of applications submitted for home refinance slid 7.1% from the previous week, dropping the refinance share to 65% of all applications submitted from 67.3% the week earlier.

MBA said that the share of applications submitted for adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) increased to 4.8% of all applications, from 4.6% a week earlier.

Simultaneously, the Mortgage Maxx survey that regulates the gross volume to reflect the number of households participating in the application process, found application activity fell 7.8%.

The publisher of the index said that this week's dip in application activity is "a clear sign that mortgage activity remains dismal" and recommended "2010 does not bode well for housing".

MAX Publisher, Paul Descloux writes, "Any potential peak in activity to take advantage of the tax credit will be over the next two to three weeks as executable paperwork alone can easily take two weeks. But since buying a house is a multi-month process for many, incentivized transactions most likely have already been measured by the MAX".

On Tuesday, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace reports Maryland mortgage rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slipped 1 basis point from 4.84% to 4.83%.

State mortgage rates varied from the lowest rate of 3.50% (Missouri) to the maximum rate of 5.03% (Tennessee). At present, Maryland mortgage rates are 2 basis points higher than the national average of 4.81%.

However, Virginia mortgage rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages remained steady at 4.8%.

In the light of all the reports and statistics, it seems that the housing industry will take a long time to recover from recession.

Mortgage rates will rise only when people will start buying or building houses and that is likely to happen only when the recession is wiped out completely.

Once the economy stabilizes and there is inflow of cash, all industries, including housing will boom.