Mortgage Rates Fall, Refinancing Increases

Rates moved sharply lower in the May 31 week which gave a boost to refinancing applications, up 6.0 percent in the week, but not purchase applications which fell 2.0 percent. Year-on-year, the purchase index is suddenly showing weakness with only a 0.5 percent gain. Conventional 30-year mortgages fell 10 basis points in the week to 4.23 percent. The housing sector has been moving higher this year though improvement has been uneven.