According to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), mortgage applications declined last week despite low current mortgage rates that would otherwise allure borrowers into refinancing their existing their mortgage loans. The decline in mortgage applications represents the first drop in a month. For the week ending Friday, January 22, 2010, mortgage applications – refinances and purchases – slipped nearly 11%.
Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Single-Family Research and Policy said, “Refinance activity fell substantially last week. Although rates remain low, there appears to be a smaller pool of borrowers who are willing and able to refinance at today’s rates.” Even though current mortgage rates rose slightly last week, they still remain at historic lows. Last week on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the average rate increased to 5.02%, up however slightly from 5.00%. During the same timeframe the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.34%, nearly unmoved from 4.33 the week prior.
–Robert Hyder
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