Mortgage Applications Rising
December 11, 2007
Even in the midst of what is being called a housing mortgage crisis, mortgage applications across the country are actually rising.
The volume of mortgage applications increased 22.5 percent last week alone. This increase was driven by refinance applications, which also increased, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said that volume was up 24.2 percent as compared with the same week in 2006.
Existing loan applications to refinance rose 31.9 percent last week, as compared to the week before. Of all mortgages, those for refinance settled at a level of 56.0 percent. It was 51.4 percent the week before.
A seasonally adjusted rate 15.2 percent was noted for purchase applications
There was good news on interest rates as well. Interest rates on traditional fixed-rate mortgages decreased last week, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.82 percent as compared to 6.09 percent just one week earlier. The 15-year fixed-rate averaged 5.38 percent, down from 5.69 percent.
Adjustable rate mortgage saw an upturn with the one-year adjustable-rate mortgages averaging 6.28 percent, which is up from 6.24 percent the week prior.
Demand for these types of loans was down, however, with the overall share of ARM’s at 11.6 percent of all loans last week. It was at 14.6 percent last week