NEW YORK ? Applications for mortgages to buy homes rose last week to the highest level since May, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.
Purchase applications jumped 14.4 percent from the previous week. The increase got an extra lift because the previous week's results included Veterans Day holiday. The survey didn't make an adjustment for the extra day in the latest week.
The level of purchase applications is at the highest since the first week of May. At the end of April, two key tax credits for homebuyers expired, which helped to boost home sales earlier this year.
Applications to refinance slipped 1 percent from a week earlier. The share of refinance applications fell to 78.6 percent from 80.3 percent.
Overall applications edged up 2.1 percent, the group said.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan rose to 4.50 from 4.46 percent from a week earlier, the group's survey showed. Rates on the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, a common refinancing option, slipped to 3.83 percent from 3.87 percent.
Rates have been at or near their lowest levels in decades since spring as investors put money into safer Treasury bonds. That has lowered their yields, which mortgage rates tend to track. In recent weeks, rates have pulled away from their lows as stronger economic reports ease investor concerns.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's survey covers more than 50 percent of all applications nationwide.
skyfire iphone costa rica cam newton auburn michele bachmann california governor alan grayson dave niehaus
No comments:
Post a Comment