<See you more on your original thread in 2004.>
Hopefully, I'll get a chance to buy some bargains there again.
Reuters
US mortgage applications fall in latest week-group
Wednesday December 24, 7:00 am ET
NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Applications for U.S. home loans fell last week, a trade group said on Wednesday, as consumers shrugged off the lowest borrowing rates in five months and focused instead on holiday shopping.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said applications for home loans fell 6.8 percent in the week ended Dec. 19, bringing its market index to 631.2. The biggest decline came in refinancing applications, which fell 7.9 percent. Applications for mortgages to buy homes dropped by 5.9 percent.
The declines came even as the average rate for a 30-year mortgage fell 0.09 percentage point to 5.62 percent, its lowest level since the week ended July 11.
Last week's declines came after a surge in mortgage applications the previous week. Since the middle of the year, applications to refinance mortgages have plummeted as rates have risen, while applications for mortgages to buy homes have remained strong.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to refinance mortgages, at 1,908.3 last week, has fallen by more than 80 percent since reaching a record high in late May. But the group's index of applications for mortgages to buy homes, known as the purchase index, stood at 411.6 last week, just 11 percent below its record high. |
