- New-Home Sales Jump to Highest Level in Over Year
- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Finances
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- US Said It Will Reduce Emissions by 17% by 2020
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- Black Friday: Can Banks Tap the Frenzy, Too?
- Blue Jeans Expected to See Another Green Christmas
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- S&P at 1050-1200 Trading Range Next Year: Strategist
- Treasury On Mortgage Modifications
- Blue Jeans Expected to See Another Green Christmas
- Investors Thankful for Gains This Year
- Thanksgiving & the Markets
- Art Cashin: Caution 'Growing' in Financials, Dividend Moves
- Topless Business Is Taking Off
- 3 Software Stock Picks from Lazard's Senior Analyst
- Schork Oil Outlook: Gas Bulls Pinning Hopes on Mother Nature
MOST SHARED
- Ritz-Carlton ?Struggling? in the US: President
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- New-Home Sales Jump 6.2% To Highest Level in Over Year
- Oil Price to Average $75.40 in 2010: Poll
- Obama Reiterates Commitment to Boost US-India Ties
- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Personal Finances
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
Text Size 
Applications for U.S. home mortgages climbed for a third straight week as more borrowers sought to refinance loans on which payments may be about to rise, an industry group said Wednesday.
The increase was led by the seasonally adjusted index of applications for home refinancings, which jumped 4.6 percent to 1,962, the highest level since May 18, the MBA said. The MBA gauge for home purchase applications edged 0.9 percent higher to 452.0 last week, it said.
The indexes underscore a growing urgency of homeowners with 5 million adjustable-rate mortgages slated to reset at higher rates over the next 18 months.
Concern that resets will boost delinquencies and foreclosures has risen as lenders eliminate programs that once accepted riskier borrowers, and increase requirements for consumers with good credit.
Refinancings accounted for 43.5 percent of all applications last week, up from 42.1 percent, the MBA said. Analysts have begun to question the value of the survey as an indicator of future home sales.
Multiple applications by borrowers who are ultimately rejected are counted in the survey, leading to overstated numbers, according to research from Lehman Brothers.
A survey by Campbell Communications earlier this month found 57 percent of homeowners trying to refinance their loans in August were turned down.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates rose 4 basis points to 6.29 percent last week, the MBA said. The rate on 1-year adjustable mortgages increased to 6.39 percent from 6.34 percent.
Print
Email
- Here's how key provisions of the health care reform bill would impact your insurance and how you'll pay for it.
- Playboy will outsource its publishing operations in a bid to become profitable again.
- Remember when auto shows were major events where new models could generate buzz?
- After nine years the NBA’s minor league equivalent is finally coming into its own.
- Bill Griffeth is taking a leave of absence from CNBC and Power Lunch for a year. Here's a message from Bill.
- For nearly three decades, these on-call experts have been dishing advice on how to – and not to – cook turkey.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes