Smart Borrower Blog

Archive for the ‘Mortgage Refinancing’ Category

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 […]

Falling Interest Rates Spur Mortgage Application Rebound

The number of U.S. mortgage applications soared in the latest week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, a result of a sharp drop in long-term interest rates. The MBA’s Market Composite Index – a measure of mortgage application volume – rose 23.5% on an unadjusted basis during the week ended Jan. 4, 2019. “Mortgage rates […]

Mortgage Rates Top 5%, Loan Applications Slip

As long-term U.S. mortgage interest rates rose to their highest level in over 7 years, fewer potential buyers and refinance borrowers applied for home loans this week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average rate on a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage jumped to 5.05%, with 0.51 points, up from 4.96% and 0.49 […]

Homeowner Equity Tops All-Time High

U.S. homeowners collectively experienced a historic milestone in the 2018 second quarter – total ‘tappable’ home equity grew to a record high, according to Black Knight Inc. Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor Report found that U.S. tappable equity jumped up to $6 trillion, a gain of $636 billion since the beginning of 2018 and triple the amount […]

Refinance Volume Falls to 18-Year Low

Fewer Americans applied for refinance loans in the latest week, as U.S. mortgage interest rates rose to a 5-week high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In fact, that jump in rates was enough to push refinance application volume to its lowest point in 18 years. “As mortgage rates increased to a five-week high, the […]

Mortgage Applications Jump as Home-buyers Seize their Opportunity

As mortgage interest rates fell and real estate inventory declines slowed, more potential home-buyers applied for home loans this week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The MBA’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found that home purchase mortgage requests jumped by 7% in the latest week, bring total application volume up for the first time in […]

Refinance Applications Fall to 20-year Low

Even though mortgage interest rates dropped in the latest week, home loan requests also decreased, with refinance applications dropping to one of their lowest readings in 20 years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. “Financial market volatility in response to continued worries about trade resulted in both lower mortgage rates and a drop in applications […]

Refinance Applications Plummet to 17-Year Low

A year of steadily rising mortgage interest rates has kept many borrowers from refinancing, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), with applications for refinance loans falling to the lowest in over 17 years. During its latest weekly survey, the MBA’ Market Composite Index, a measure of total refinance and home purchase application volume, declined […]

Mortgage Rates Top 7-Year High

It looks like rising interest rates are in the forecast for the foreseeable future. Interest rates on long-term U.S. mortgages pushed up to their highest level in 7 years this week, according to data from mortgage finance company Freddie Mac, following a major bond sell-off and speculation that the Federal Reserve might raise its own […]