Applications for U.S. home mortgages increased l ast week as record-low interest rates spurred demand for refinancing, although loans for purchases slipped, an industry group said on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and home purchase demand, ro se 0 .9 pe rcent in the week end ed Jul y 20.
The MBA’s seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications rose 1.8 percent, while the gauge of loan requests for home purchases, a leading indicator of home sales, fell 2.8 percent.
The refinance share of total mortgage activity rose to 80.8 p ercent of applications from 8 0.1 p ercent the week before.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates held steady at 3.74 percent, the lowest rate in the survey’s history.
The survey covers over 75 percent of U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, according to MBA.
via CNBC
