- Consumer Mood Improves, But Anxiety Over Finances
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- AIG Board OKs CEO Pay; Benmosche Agrees to Stay
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- Americans Ditch Planes for Trains this Thanksgiving
- Oil Price to Average $75.40 in 2010: Poll
- FDIC's Bair Cautions on Risks in Bank Break-Up Plan
- Call Me Crazy: Confessions of a Black Friday Shopper
- Topless Business Is Taking Off
- 3 Software Stock Picks from Lazard's Senior Analyst
- Schork Oil Outlook: Gas Bulls Pinning Hopes on Mother Nature
- Toyota Makes Recall Fix And So Long Saab
- Investors Bet on a New Year's Rally For eBay
- Why You Should Play the Reflation Trade: Stock Picker
- Citi Mortgage Reveals What Treasury Won't
- S&P to Hit 1,200 by Year-End: Chief Investor
- Amended Berkshire Hathaway Filing Indicates No Secret Stock Stakes at End of Q3
MOST SHARED
- The 'Real' Jobless Rate: 17.5% Of Workers Are Unemployed
- Ritz-Carlton ?Struggling? in the US: President
- Oil Price to Average $75.40 in 2010: Poll
- Half of Banks' Losses May Still Be Hidden: IMF Head
- Obama Reiterates Commitment to Boost US-India Ties
- NBA D-League On The Rise
- Americans Ditch Planes for Trains this Thanksgiving
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- Citi Mortgage Reveals What Treasury Won't
Text Size 
Applications for U.S. home mortgages last week slumped to their lowest since December in another sign the housing market is far from recovery, according to data reported by an industry group Wednesday.
 |
David J. Phillip / AP |
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity dropped 11.1 percent to 567.0 in the week ended April 25, its lowest since the week ending Dec. 28.
The MBA's index of applications for loan refinancings fell 16.7 percent last week to 1,905.2.
The gauge of loan requests for home purchases decreased 4.8 percent to 340.1.
The drop in applications follows data Tuesday that showed foreclosure filings more than doubled last quarter from a year earlier, adding to inventories and exacerbating price declines.
Falling home values have deterred would-be buyers, who fear taking a loss shortly after a potential purchase, economists say.
Existing home sales plunged 19.3 percent in the year through March, and the inventory of homes for sale lingered at levels that would take 10 months to clear at the current sales pace, the National Association of Realtors said last week.
Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.01 percent in the week, down 3 basis points from 6.04 percent the prior week.
Print
Email
- Remember when auto shows were major events where new models could generate buzz?
- People who bottle up their anger at work are up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack, a study found.
- Playboy will outsource its publishing operations in a bid to become profitable again.
- 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