Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Mortgage Refinancing’ Category

Refinance Application Volume Shoots Up 300% Over Last Year…Thanks to Thanksgiving

Total refinance application volume jumped 314% this week compared to last year but was just 4% higher than the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. And although that 300%+ number sounds jaw-dropping, it really isn’t a fair comparison as the same week last year included Thanksgiving. So of course, fewer people were out […]

Mortgage Volume Unchanged Amid Lower Rates

Long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates fell in the latest week, but it was not enticing enough to bring borrowers to the mortgage table, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s mortgage application index fell 0.1% during the week ended November 6, 2019, with a 2% increase in refinance requests being offset by […]

Low Mortgage Rates Squeeze Housing Inventory

Lower mortgage interest rates have increased demand for housing, pushing current market inventory down 2.5% in September, according to Realtor.com. That’s a significantly bigger decline than August’s 1.8% decrease. And the housing supply could drop even farther in coming months. Long-term mortgage interest rates have dropped to 3.5% from 5% just a year ago. That […]

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 […]

Refinances Take Off as Mortgage Rates Tank

In the wake of the plummeting interest rates, U.S. mortgage borrowers rushed to refinance in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s seasonally adjusted mortgage volume index rose 21.7% this week from the week before and 81% from the year before. Most of that growth came from an explosion in refinance […]

Fed Makes First Rate Cut in a Decade

The Federal Reserve voted today to lower its target interest rate by 25 basis point to a range of 2% to 2.25%, the first rate cut in 11 years. The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) found that “the [U.S.] labor market remains strong and that economic activity has been rising at a moderate rate,” […]

Mortgage Applications Stall as Rates Increase

Long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates rose in the latest week, according to data from Freddie Mac, without having much effect on home loan application volume. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.75% with 0.6 point, up from 3.73% the week before. One year ago, the average rate was much higher at […]

Mortgage Rates Halt Decline in Latest Week

As investor fears about international trade lessened, long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates held steady in the latest week after falling for the previous six, according to Freddie Mac. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.82%, with an average 0.6 point during the week ended June 13, 2019, unchanged from the […]

Home Purchase Requests Jump to 9-Year Record High

Even as interest rates continued to climb, the number of applications for home purchases rose to the highest level since April 2010, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Total mortgage application volume decreased 3.5% during the week ended April 17, 2019, but was up 14% from the previous year. Home purchase requests rose 1% in […]

Household Debt Tops Pre-Recession High

Americans owed $13.54 trillion in household debt as of the 2018 fourth quarter, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a 0.2% increase from the third quarter and the 18th straight quarterly gain. Total household debt has surpassed even the pre-recession peak of $12.68 trillion and is 21% higher than the […]