Mortgage Applications Rise 6%

Mortgage applications for home purchases, viewed as one of the leading gauges of future homebuying activity, rose to its highest level since September, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports. The MBA’s index measuring loan demand for home purchases increased 5.8 percent last week.

However, while mortgage applications for home purchases rose, applications for refinancings fell to a two-month low, which brought the MBA’s overall index down 2.3 percent for the week ending Nov. 15. It marked the third consecutive week that the MBA’s index showed a decrease in overall loan demand. Refinance applications made up 64 percent of applications in the MBA’s index, which measures mortgage applications for both home purchases and refinancings.

The MBA’s index measuring refinancing applications dropped 6.5 percent last week, posting its lowest level since mid-September.

The MBA reports the average 30-year fixed-loan rate rose last week to 4.46 percent, the highest level in a month. Rates on 15-year loans remained unchanged last week at 3.52 percent.

Source: “Mortgage Applications in U.S. Retreated for Third Straight Week,” Bloomberg Businessweek (Nov. 20, 2013) and “U.S. Mortgage Application Volume Fell 2.3% in Latest Week, MBA Says,” The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 20, 2013)