Low Mortgage Rates Aren’t Budging Loan Demand

Reuters  |   September 9, 2014

Mortgage rates continue to hover near yearly lows, but the low rates aren’t creating a rush from home buyers or home owners. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which reflects applications for home purchases and refinances, dropped 7.2 percent for the week ending Sept. 5.

Broken out, applications for refinancings had the biggest fall at 10.7 percent last week while applications for home purchases, viewed as one of the leading indicators of future home sales, dropped 2.6 percent. (That follows another 1.5 percent drop the prior week in purchase applications.)

Mortgage rates did tick up slightly last week, but remain low by historical standards. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.27 percent in the week, up from 4.25 percent the week prior. It was the first time in four weeks that interest rates had risen slightly, the MBA reports.

The MBA’s report covers more than 75 percent of the U.S. retail residential mortgage application market.

Source: Reuters