Aug 25, 2014

U.S. Mortgage Rates Decline With 30-Year at Lowest Since October

Mortgage rates in the U.S. dropped for a second week, sending 30-year borrowing costs to the lowest point for 2014.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.1%, down from 4.12%, Freddie Mac said in a statement today. The average 15-year rate slipped to 3.23% from 3.24%, according to the McLean, Va.-based mortgage-finance company.

The 30-year rate was last this low at the end of October. It has declined from a two-year high of 4.58% last August, helping support home demand. Previously owned houses sold at an annualized rate of 5.15 million in July, up 2.4% from the previous month and the most since September, the National Association of Realtors said today.

"The longer rates are down at these levels, the more activity we're going to get," Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, N.C., said in an interview before the data were released. "They're helping in some way, but that activity may be less than hoped for."

Last month's sales pace was down 4.3% from July 2013, figures from the Realtors group show.

Aug 7, 2014

Mortgage Applications Escalate as Refinances Increase

Mortgage application volume increased from the previous week due to more refinance activity. The Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly index showed that mortgage loan application volume was 2.4% higher on a seasonally adjusted basis for the period ending July 18, after decreasing the week before.

The refinance index was up 4% week-over-week, while the home purchase index only increased by 0.3% from one week earlier, the Washington-based trade group said on Wednesday.

The refinance share of mortgage activity accounted for 54.4% of total applications, the highest percentage in four months. Meanwhile, the adjustable-rate mortgage share remained unchanged at 8%.

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages held steady at 4.33%. Mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration saw average interest rates decline one basis point to 4.03%. 

A 15-year fixed-rate mortgage had its interest rate increase six basis points to 3.47%. The weekly survey covers 75% of all retail residential mortgage applications.

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