Mortgage Activity Logs Biggest Drop of the Year
Home loan demand fell 14 percent last week, as higher interest rates sent refinancing down 17 percent. This was the biggest drop of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey.
Applications for mortgages to purchase homes fell 5 percent last week compared to the previous week on an adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, purchase applications decreased 8.2 percent compared with the previous week and were 11.3 percent lower than they were the same week a year ago.
Purchase applications had been on the rise for the previous three weeks, but “rates increased sharply last week due to stronger economic data and lingering uncertainty regarding the structure and impact of the Fed’s QE2 program. Mortgage applications … dropped in response,” said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.
Here are the average rates:
? 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 4.46 percent from 4.28 percent.
? 15-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 3.87 percent from 3.64 percent.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (11/17/2010)
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Refinancing Drives Mortgage Activity
Mortgage activity rose last week to the highest level in about two months, mainly from borrowers locking in low mortgage rates by refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
Nearly three of every four loan requests last week was for a refinancing rather than a purchase, the industry group said. Total mortgage applications, based on the group’s seasonally adjusted market index, rose 8.5 percent to 665.6, the highest since early October.
Demand for loans to buy a home increased by 4.0 percent to 241.5, the highest since the last week of October, while refinancing applications jumped 11.1 percent to 3,185.9 last week to a two-month high, the industry group’s indexes showed.
Average 30-year mortgage rates rose 0.09 percentage point to 4.88 percent but haven’t moved much from all-time lows.The rate was down from 5.44 percent a year ago and compared with a record low of 4.61 percent set in March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Source: Reuters, Mortgage Bankers Association (11/9/2009)
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