Mortgage demand declines sharply as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the U.S. economy.

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In another sign of economic decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic, mortgage applications decreased 17.9 percent from one week earlier, according to data released Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 3, 2020.

Refinance applications dropped 19 percent, reversing a 25 percent increase the week before, according to the data. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 12 percent from one week earlier.

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"Mortgage applications fell last week, as economic weakness and the surge in unemployment continues to weigh heavily on the housing market. Purchase activity declined again, with the index dropping to its lowest level since 2015 and now down 33 percent compared to a year ago," said Joel Kan, MBA’s Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting.

"With much less liquidity and tighter credit in the jumbo market, average loan sizes declined, and mortgage rates for jumbo loans increased to a high last seen in January," Kan added.

The survey covers over 75 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and has been conducted weekly since 1990.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country.

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