Falling Interest Rates Fuel Uptick In Purchase Applications And Refinancing

Falling mortgage rates stirred up some mortgage activity in the May 6 week, with purchase applications for home mortgages up 0.4 percent and refinancing up 0.5 percent from the prior week. Purchase applications were 14 percent higher than a year ago, which is a 1 percent improvement from the previous week, and may signal a halting of the steady erosion of the year-on-year gain since March, when it was over 30 percent. Mortgage rates fell from the very low levels that are vital to the housing market even lower in the May 6 week, with the average 30-year mortgage for conforming loans ($417,000 or less) dropping 5 basis points to 3.82 percent.