01 Sep 10 Home Loan Applications Rise
Mortgage refinance activity is at its highest level since May 2009 and makes up almost 83% of all new home mortgages, its highest share since January 2009. However, home sales continue to struggle. Buyers are sitting out because they are worried about jobs or are deterred by strict mortgage requirements. New purchase loan activity is 40% below the levels seen at the end of April, when two federal tax credits for homebuyers expired.
Home loan rates have fallen since spring as investors, worried about the health of the global economy, seek the safety of Treasury bonds. That lowered their yield, and mortgage rates tend to track those yields. The average interest rate for a 30-year mortgage with a fixed rate fell to 4.43% from 4.55% a week earlier. Rates on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, a common refinancing option, decreased to 3.88% from 3.91%.
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