Surge in Refinancing
As interest rates fell to the lowest they’ve been in a year, lenders saw a surge in mortgage applications as home owners rushed to refinance their mortgages. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that refinancing and home-purchase loans rose 8.1% last week over the previous week.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 5.98%, the lowest since the week ended Oct. 7, 2005, when it stood at the same level. Interest rates were also below year-ago levels of 6.32%.