Mortgage applications rose 10.9 percent nationwide last week and requests to refinance existing loans rebounded from the week before, according to data released Wednesday from the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association.
Refinance applications increased 15.2 percent for the week that ended July 3. The data was adjusted to account for the Independence Day holiday.
Applications for mortgages for purchases increased to a seasonally adjusted 6.7 percent, compared with the week before.
Jane Floyd of Diversified Home Mortgage in Tampa said the news isn't surprising.
Floyd says she's seen an uptick in business as buyers take advantage of lower mortgage rates, dropping home prices and government tax credits for first-time home buyers.
"About 60 percent of our business is first-timers who are getting great deals," Floyd said. "Others are moving up to a nicer home. We're also seeing people from up north buying their retirement homes early because prices have dropped."
The mortgage application data is particularly encouraging because refinance applications fell during the week that ended June 26. That week, refinance applications weakened to their lowest level since last November.
Refinancing applications made up 48.4 percent of mortgage activity last week. That was up from 46.4 percent the previous week. Adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 4.4 percent, up from 4.3 percent.
The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.34 percent last week, unchanged from the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's most recent survey data.
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