- Turkey Day 101: How Well Do You Know Your Bird?
- $42 Billion US Bond Auction Receives Strong Demand
- GM's Agreement to Sell Saab Unit Falls Apart
- Consumer Confidence Improves but Still Shaky
- US Home Prices Up 5th Month, 2nd Straight Quarter
- FDIC Fund Falls into The Red, Bair Urges Lending
- Holiday Guide to This Season's Smartphones
- Six Ways to Boost Your Income in a Big Way
- Buyers Look for Bargains at Luxury Condo Auction
- My 2010 Home Price Outlook: UBS Analyst
- Why Are Options Piling into Dollar Tree?
- Novartis 'Cells' Its Flu Vaccine Technology
- Silicon Valley and Hollywood Now Fast Friends
- Markets Can Rise 5-10% in the Near-Term: Strategist
- Busch: The Debt-Interest Rate Paradox
- The Lloyd's Prayer, Leggo My Eggo, Plate Hate & Your Emails
- Buy These 'Competitively Positioned' Stocks: Portfolio Manager
- Behind The Scenes With Warren Buffett
MOST SHARED
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- GM's Agreement to Sell Saab To Swedish Firm Falls Apart
- US Home Prices Up 5th Month, 2nd Straight Quarter
- FDIC Fund Falls into The Red, Bair Urges Lending
- Buyers Look For Bargains At Luxury Condo Auction
- Weak Dollar Is Golden for Mining Companies
- Revised GDP Reading Puts Growth at 2.8%; Inflation Tame
- Behind The Scenes With Warren Buffett
- Gold Will Collapse Like Oil Did in 2008: Charts
- CA "More Profitable" After Saving Energy: CEO
Text Size 
Applications for U.S. home mortgages jumped to their highest level in nearly four years as low interest rates led more homeowners to seek refinancing, according to data from an industry group on Wednesday.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity rose 7.5 percent to 1,054.9 in the week ended Jan. 25. It was last higher in late March 2004, the MBA said.
The MBA seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications soared 22.1 percent to 5,103.6, the highest since July 2003. But the index measuring applications for home purchases declined 17.7 percent to 362.0, the MBA said.
Refinancing activity rose to 73 percent of all applications, up from 66 percent in the previous week, the MBA said. The jump came after the Federal Reserve lowered its target short-term interest rate in an emergency move aimed at stemming economic weakness and easing tight credit conditions.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates rose 0.11 percentage point last week to 5.6 percent, the MBA said. The previous week's rate was the lowest since late June 2005.
The Fed is expected to lower its overnight federal funds target again on Wednesday as it concludes a policy meeting. But lowering the short-term rate may not mean further declines in fixed-mortgage rates, which more closely follow yields on the Treasury 10-year note.
Print
Email
- Remember when auto shows were major events where new models could generate buzz?
- A diet high in fat and sugar might actually be good for your portfolio.
- A new McDonald's in Manhattan is the nation's first to sport a sleek, chic interior imported from stores in London and Paris.
- Italians were outraged by a minister's comments that lunchbreaks are bad for waistlines and the economy.
- Playboy will outsource its publishing operations in a bid to become profitable again.
- 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