With the peak home-buying season kicking off, savvy buyers will be scouring the newspapers, checking the Internet and pounding the pavement, not only for the perfect house… but also for the best mortgage rates.
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U.S. home mortgage loan applications declined for the first time in four weeks, weighed down by sagging demand for home purchase loans.
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Mortgage applications rose across the U.S. for the third straight week, driven by both home purchase loan and refinancing activity.
Applications for new mortgages and refinancing increased 0.6 percent last week, pushed upward largely by higher demand for home loans to buy real estate, an industry trade group reported yesterday.
Home mortgage applications rose last week after five consecutive weekly declines, as lower home loan rates spurred both home purchase loan and home mortgage loan refinancing activity in the U.S.
Home mortgage applications fell for the fifth consecutive week, largely reflecting a drop in demand for home purchase loans, an industry trade group said Wednesday.
During a time when more and more families are losing homes to foreclosure, home mortgage experts are offering new tools to help homebuyers avoid making the same harmful mistakes.
Applications for mortgages again fell last week throughout the U.S. as home mortgage rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Wednesday.
The number of applications filed at major mortgage lenders dropped for a fourth straight week, as adjustable-rate mortgage loans fell to their lowest share of applications in nearly four years.
Loan applications to purchase and refinance U.S. homes fell last week when mortgage rates increased, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said that its seasonally adjusted index of home mortgage applications fell for the third straight week.
The volume dropped by 3.2 percent to 649.5 in the week ending March 30.
The MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase index declined 2.0 percent to 402.9, while its refinancing applications index fell 4.5 percent to 2,098.3.
Borrowing costs rose for all home loan products. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, excluding fees, rose 0.09 percent from the prior week to 6.13 percent, their highest since 6.16 percent February 23.
The week’s slide in mortgage applications dragged all three MBA indexes down on a four-week moving average, which smooths out volatility.
On that basis, the market index finished the week 0.8 percent lower at 670.8, the purchase index dipped 0.1 percent to 409.7 and the mortgage refinancing index slipped 1.5 percent to 2,204.2.
Where is the market headed? Reports over the past few week on U.S. home sales and home prices paint a mixed picture for economists.
Long-term mortgage rates remain relatively low, which should bolster home mortgage loan applications throughout the U.S., analysts believe.
Average 30-year fixed home loan rates were close to 6.50 percent a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
However, stricter lending standards instituted to temper late mortgage payments and foreclosures, especially among borrowers with bad credit, likely will forestall the recovery in housing, most analysts think.
On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reported a 0.7 percent bump in pending sales of existing U.S. homes, suggesting stabilization.
In a pending sale, the contract has been signed but the transaction has not yet been finalized at closing. Paring down the growing stockpile of unsold homes is seen as essential for a sustained housing rebound.
SOURCE: Reuters
Applications for mortgages at major U.S. lenders dipped 0.2 percent in the past week even as interest rates fell, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported in its weekly survey Wednesday.
Total applications - including purchase loans and all mortgage refinancing loans - fell 0.2 percent week-on-week and were up about 17 percent compared with the same week a year ago.
The number of applications to refinance an existing mortgage dropped 0.5 percent in the past week, after hitting an 18-month high two weeks prior.
Refinance mortgage applications are up about 41 percent compared with the same week a year ago.
In all, mortgage refinance activity accounted for 45.1 percent of home loan applications.
The volume of home loan applications to buy a home rose 0.1 percent. Home purchase loan activity is up about 2 percent compared with a year ago.
By contrast, U.S. home sales are down about 5.5 percent from the same time last year, even as home mortgage rates have remained extremely low, by historical standards.
Mortgage rates inched lower again last week.
The average mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed-rate loan dropped to 6.04 percent from 6.06 percent, while the average rate for a 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 5.77 percent from 5.79 percent. Average rates for one-year ARMs declined to 5.84 percent from 5.88 percent.
ARMs accounted for 20.2 percent of loans, down from 20.9 percent.
SOURCE: MarketWatch