Mortgage applications increase for a second week Enlarge Photo Loan applications rose for a second week in a row last week — the same week mortgage rates fell to the their lowest point this year. Mortgage applications increase for a second week Tucker EcholsBroadcast/Web Reporter- Washington Business JournalEmail | Twitter When the price of money drops, more people tend to scoop it up. And so it was last week. Loan applications rose for a second week in a row last week — the same week mortgage rates fell to the their lowest point this year. The Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday its mortgage application index rose 2.8 percent in the week ended Aug. 22, following a gain of 1.4 percent the week before. As applications were increasing, rates were dropping. Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 4.1 percent in the week ending Aug. 21, setting a yearly low for a second week in a row. The prior weeks rate was 4.12 percent. The increase in mortgage activity was consistent across the borrower spectrum, with purchase applications increasing 2.6 percent and refinance applications rising 2.8 percent. The boost in home purchase applications may indicate some strengthening in the housing market since last month. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 2.4 percent in July, but that is a measurement of closings from contracts signed as long ago as two months before. New home sales in July fell 2.4 percent, according to the Commerce Department, which counts signed contracts, one of the earliest steps in the home-buying process. Tucker Echols covers general assignment and provides business coverage for WTOP.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 15:41:14 +0000
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