Mortgage activity dips as rates rise
Applications for home loans fall 1.3%, pulled lower by 5% drop in refinancing requests.
April 9, 2003: 8:40 AM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Americans filed fewer mortgage applications last week than the prior week, primarily due to a decline in requests for refinancing as mortgage rates rose, an industry report said Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America said its weekly seasonally adjusted index gauging mortgage application activity for the week ended April 4 stood at 1,2461.1, down 1.3 percent from the prior week's 1,262.5.
The housing sector, which has provided crucial support for an economy struggling to recover, is still strong by historical standards. Mortgage rates hovering near 40-year lows have supported a housing boom and a flood of refinancings, which have enabled consumers to cut borrowing costs and spend more.
The group's seasonally adjusted gauge for refinancing fell to 6,162.8, down 5 percent from the prior week's 6,484.6. Its seasonally adjusted mortgage index for home purchases was at 400.8, up 9.9 percent from the prior week.
Interest rates, excluding fees, on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loans, the most widely held home loan in the United States, averaged 5.80 percent, up 0.17 percentage point from the previous week, the MBA said.
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