Posted on 12/06/2006 6:31:53 AM PST by Moonman62
NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications rose sharply last week, fueled by a surge in home refinancing loans as interest rates sunk to their lowest levels in more than a year, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended Dec. 1 increased 8.1 percent to 647.6 from the previous week's 599.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 5.98 percent, down 0.15 percentage point from the previous week, the lowest since the week ended Oct. 7, 2005, when it stood at the same level. Interest rates were also below year-earlier levels of 6.32 percent.
The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications jumped 13.7 percent to 1,989.7.
The group's seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 4.9 percent to 426.6, its highest since May. However, the week's purchase index reading was substantially below its year-ago level of 495.1.
The purchase index is considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales.
Remarkable similarity between the coverage of this "crisis" and the coverage of globular warming.
Some may be refinancing their way out of toxic loans.
As Martha Stewart would say, it's a good thing.
In related news - the manufacturing slump (another end of the world) may have to be postponed since the dollar slide makes US goods (airplanes, machine tools, industrial machinery, retail products & just about everything and anything)more attractive to foreign buyers.
Buzz killer!
Up/down/up/down/up/down/up.............
"Buzz killer!"
You must be a round 40 years old, havent heard that term in 20 years.
Just heard a suggestion that it takes a net worth of $2200 to be in the 50th percentile of wealth on planet earth. The odd thing is that we can have all these huge houses and cars full of electronic toys and be living large and have a net worth of something negative, which puts those of us in the poor category.
that's cause of all the buying of those foreclosures in the other thread
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Lenders are shaving nothing. Fixed rate mortgages are tied to the yield on the ten year treasury, which is determined by the global bond market.
The company cited on that thread measures all homes in the foreclosure process. Very few of those homes actually make it to foreclosure.
bump
That's right, all of those people who borrowed on crazy Interest-only ARMS and variable rates can still refinance at about 6% fixed over 30 years, which is an absolute gift.
But wait, some moron in Indiana has never bothered to look into doing a refinance on the disastrous mortgage he took out 3 years ago, so he's headed for foreclosure. So, in the words of many FReepers, "WE'RE DOOMED!"
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