Mortgage refinancing applications inched up in the early part of January 2011 as rates subsided.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said in a statement last week that its Refinance Index, which measures mortgage refinancing activity, jumped nearly 5 percent for the week prior to Jan. 7.
Meanwhile, total mortgage applications for single-family homes dipped 3.7 percent during the same time period, according to the MBA’s seasonally adjusted Purchase Index.
Mortgage refinancing applications made up more than 72 percent of total mortgage applications, up from 71 percent in December, the MBA said.
The average rate for fixed-rate mortgages dropped slightly, with 30-year rates touching their lowest point in four months, government-backed mortgager Freddie Mac said last Thursday.
Conventional 15-year mortgages averaged a 4.08 interest rate, down from 4.13 for the prior week.
Rates for longer 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slid from 4.77 percent to 4.71 percent, Freddie Mac announced.
The month-low rates have yet to translate into sustained refinancing activity, however, as the MBA’s Refinance Index has plummeted 7.5 percent in its four-week moving average for late December and early January.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said in a statement last week that its Refinance Index, which measures mortgage refinancing activity, jumped nearly 5 percent for the week prior to Jan. 7.
Meanwhile, total mortgage applications for single-family homes dipped 3.7 percent during the same time period, according to the MBA’s seasonally adjusted Purchase Index.
Mortgage refinancing applications made up more than 72 percent of total mortgage applications, up from 71 percent in December, the MBA said.
The average rate for fixed-rate mortgages dropped slightly, with 30-year rates touching their lowest point in four months, government-backed mortgager Freddie Mac said last Thursday.
Conventional 15-year mortgages averaged a 4.08 interest rate, down from 4.13 for the prior week.
Rates for longer 30-year fixed-rate mortgages slid from 4.77 percent to 4.71 percent, Freddie Mac announced.
The month-low rates have yet to translate into sustained refinancing activity, however, as the MBA’s Refinance Index has plummeted 7.5 percent in its four-week moving average for late December and early January.
