From Reuters.com:
Mortgage applications leaped last week as rock-bottom rates lifted demand for home refinancing loans to its highest level in 15 months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
Home loan refinancing puts extra cash into consumers' hands that can be used to pay off existing debt or funnel into the economy through purchases. By lowering a monthly mortgage payment it may also help some homeowners avoid default and foreclosure.
The MBA said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, for the week ended August 13, increased 13.0 percent. The four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was up 2.6 percent.
The MBA's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications increased 17.1 percent, the highest since the week ended May 15, 2009.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 4.60 percent, up 0.03 percentage point from the previous week's record low. The survey has been conducted weekly since 1990.