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Mortgage applications up 12.8%

Charlotte Business Journal - by Tucker Echols Washington Business Journal

Falling interest rates prompted a 12.8 percent increase in applications to buy a mortgage or refinance a home in the week ended Sept. 18, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The increase lifted the trade group’s index of applications to 668.5, its highest level since May. And it follows an 8.6 percent decline in the week ended Sept. 11.

The index of home-purchase applications rose 5.6 percent, while the index of refinances increased 17.4 percent. Refinancing retains the lion’s share of all mortgage applications, accounting for 64 percent of all activity.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s measure of interest rates has been trending downward since early June and last week fell below 5 percent for the first time since May. The average interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages declined to 4.97 percent from 5.08 percent the week before.

The average interest rate for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 4.41 percent from 4.42 percent in the same period.

The average interest rate for one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages decreased to 6.52 percent from 6.61 percent.

- article from the Charlotte Business Journal