Florida Home Loan Refinancing on the Rise

Looking to refinance your Florida home loan? You may have to get in line.

In the wake of expected interest rate hikes, nationwide home loan refinancing applications surged last week, industry trade group figures showed. The Federal Reserve is expected to increase Florida home loans rates again at the end of June.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications for the week ended June 9 increased 10.6 percent to 1,499.4. A year earlier the index stood at 2,967.4.

Douglas Duncan, the MBA’s chief economist, attributed the rise in demand to aforementioned interest rate expectations.

“An increase in applications is typical ahead of a Fed meeting,” he said. “There is a widespread belief that the Fed is going to raise rates again and that awareness had consumers looking to lock in a rate.”

The core consumer price index, an inflation measure, spiked 0.3 percent for the third month in a row in May, surpassing forecasts for a 0.2 percent increase. On June 28, the Federal Reserve will convene and Florida home loan rates may be worse off as a result of it.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.61 percent, up 0.01 percentage point from the previous week. The refinance share of applications increased to 35.7 percent from 34.2 percent the previous week.

Overall, owners are hoping to avoid being caught in the recent foreclosure swell. They hope to reduce Florida home loan payments and lock in reasonable rates.