Mortgage applications fall over past week
Posted April 11th, 2014 by Mark Martin
The number of people applying for mortgages fell slightly in the week that ended on April 4, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA's Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage activity, fell by 1.6 percent week over week.Mortgage applications have been tumbling for some time now. According to the MBA, applications started to drop during the last week of February, which was a surprise, as the previous week posted a 9.8 percent increase. Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist, said some lenders have been doing their best to help borrowers, but those lenders have now backed off a bit."Consistent with past months, many lenders and investors are providing borrowers seeking higher loan amounts with a broader range of financing options by introducing new jumbo loan programs," Fratantoni said. "Over the month, some lenders made a complete exit from wholesale lending operations, while other lenders moved to enter that space or expanded operations."The number of people who refinanced their loan also decreased during this time period. Refinancing can be beneficial for homeowners, as it allows them to get a better interest rate and cheaper payments. MBA reported the refinancing index fell by 5 percent over the last week, dropping to the lowest level since 2013. Among all mortgage applications, refinancing consisted of 51 percent over the past week, a drop from the previous week's 53 percent.Although total and refinancing mortgage applications fell a bit over the last week, one positive of the survey was the 3 percent seasonally adjusted increase in purchase applications.Real Estate News brought to you by 2M Realty, a true expert in the online real estate market.
The number of people applying for mortgages fell slightly in the week that ended on April 4, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA's Market Composite Index, which tracks mortgage activity, fell by 1.6 percent week over week.Mortgage applications have been tumbling for some time now. According to the MBA, applications started to drop during the last week of February, which was a surprise, as the previous week posted a 9.8 percent increase. Mike Fratantoni, MBA's chief economist, said some lenders have been doing their best to help borrowers, but those lenders have now backed off a bit."Consistent with past months, many lenders and investors are providing borrowers seeking higher loan amounts with a broader range of financing options by introducing new jumbo loan programs," Fratantoni said. "Over the month, some lenders made a complete exit from wholesale lending operations, while other lenders moved to enter that space or expanded operations."The number of people who refinanced their loan also decreased during this time period. Refinancing can be beneficial for homeowners, as it allows them to get a better interest rate and cheaper payments. MBA reported the refinancing index fell by 5 percent over the last week, dropping to the lowest level since 2013. Among all mortgage applications, refinancing consisted of 51 percent over the past week, a drop from the previous week's 53 percent.Although total and refinancing mortgage applications fell a bit over the last week, one positive of the survey was the 3 percent seasonally adjusted increase in purchase applications.Real Estate News brought to you by 2M Realty, a true expert in the online real estate market.