Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for September, 2019

Lower Mortgage Rates Pushed August New Home Sales Up

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes jumped 7.1% in August, according to the Commerce Department, bolstered by lower mortgage interest rates. Sales outpaced predictions by economists surveyed by Reuters, who had forecast they would grow by just 3.5% last month. New home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 713,000 in August, up […]

Texans Carry Most Auto Loan Debt

Everything is bigger in Texas, including car loan debt, apparently. According to a recent study from credit bureau Experian, out of the top 25 U.S. cities with the highest average auto loan debt in the second quarter, 24 of them were in Texas. Midland, Texas ranked number one, with residents owing an average of $33,847 […]

Small Business Loan Approvals Continue to Hit Record Highs

As the economy continues to chug forward, banks big and small are willing to loan more money for small businesses, with loan approvals rising to record highs again in August. According to data from Biz2Credit, big banks – those with $10 billion or more in assets – approved 27.8% of all small business loan applications […]

Mortgage Applications Decline Again Amidst Lower Rates

Even though long-term mortgage interest rates fell last week, demand for home mortgage loans continued to drop, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s mortgage application volume index decreased a seasonally adjusted 3.1% in the latest week. On a yearly basis though, application demand is up 62%. The drop was led by […]