Mortgage refinancing activity falls - Bills.com News

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Mortgage refinancing activity falls

Thursday, Oct 22, 2009
By Lance Piper

Home refinance applications continued to decline according to a recent report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

In its report for the week ending on October 16, the MBA noted that home refinancing, as a share of overall mortgage activity, dropped from 67.4 percent to 65 percent. The association's Home Refinance Index also fell by 16.8 percent when compared to the week before.

Overall, the MBA's Mortgage Composite Index fell by aseasonally adjusted 13.7 percent when compared to the previous week. On an unadjusted basis it fell by 22.4 percent. All numbers in the weekly survey were adjusted to account for the holiday on Columbus Day.

As the number of mortgages fell, average interest rates saw a climb. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose from 5.02 percent to 5.07 percent. For 15-year fixed mortgages, the average rate went up to 4.51 percent after being at 4.44 percent.

For one-year adjustable mortgages, the average interest rate increased from 6.71 percent to 6.86 percent. On the whole, the share of mortgage activity accounted for by adjustable-rate
mortgages increased from 6.2 to 6.4 percent.

Recently, Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Dodd called on Congress to extend the first-time home-buying tax credit. As it stands, the $8,000 tax credit is set to expire on November 30 of this year. Dodd said it should be extended through the end of June, 2010 and should include more middle-income families.


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• Percentage share of home refinance applications increases As a part of overall mortgages, mortgage refinancing applications continued to increase according to the most recent survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Oct 16, 2009

• MBA expects home refinancing to decline next year the Mortgage Bankers Association
noted that home refinance applications will probably see a drop in 2010. Oct 15, 2009

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