There's good news and bad news about the mortgage market. The good news is that you can get your information from a variety of sources. The bad news? You really need to get your news from a variety of sources.
Conflicting reports Wednesday suggest that mortgage applications are up -- and down.
According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, as reported by USA Today, mortgage loan applications are up 16.1% for the week ending August 7 relative to the same week the year before. This meshes with a second quarter increase in home sales in 39 states. Refinances accounted for 52.3% of mortgage applications (down from 54.2% the week before), and adjustable-rate mortgage applications increased from 5.4% of applications to 5.8%.
Reuters, on the other hand, chose to zero in on the week-over-week seasonally adjusted decline of 3.5% (which was reported in USA Today, as well). An increase in interest rates was cited as the problem. The 9.4% unemployment rate is also a problem, as many potential home buyers are remaining cautious in this economic climate.
The Mortgage Bankers Association report put the cost to borrow on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (net of fees) at 5.38%, up 0.21 percentage points from the previous week and the highest rate since mid-June. The market hit an all-time low of 4.61% the week ending March 27. A year ago, however, the rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages was a whopping 6.57%.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-13-2009 @ 1:49PM
clikdawg said...
"My daddy said: 'Believe half of what you see, son,
and none of what you hear ... "
-- Marvin Gaye, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"