New York (Reuters) - Demand for mortgage applications was unchanged during the Christmas holiday week, holding at the highest levels in more than five years with loan rates near record lows, an industry group said Wednesday.
Borrowing costs have tumbled more than 1-1/2 percentage points from summer peaks and are widely expected to slide further as the government steps in to stabilize the worst housing market since the Great Depression.
Fixed 30-year home loan rates averaged 5.03% last week, marginally lower than 5.04% a week earlier but well below the 6.59% summer peak in July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey of mortgage applications.
Last week’s rate was the lowest since June 2003, the trade group said.
Another survey released Wednesday by Freddie Mac confirmed that rates are falling to record lows.
Interest rates on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10% for the week ending Dec. 31, down from the previous week’s 5.14%, according to a survey of 125 lenders nationwide.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has not been lower since Freddie Mac started the Primary Mortgage Market Survey in 1971.
“Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell for the ninth straight week and represented a third consecutive all time record low since Freddie Mac’s survey began in April 1971,” Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity was unchanged last week at 1,245.7, matching the highest level since July 2003 set the previous week.
Requests for home purchase applications climbed 1.4% to 320.9 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while refinancing application demand slipped 0.4% to 6,733.8 last week.
Filed under: Freddie Mac, Housing Market, Mortgage 1 Comment »
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