Fed Leads Owners into Mini Florida Mortgage Refinancing Boom

When the Federal Reserve finally stopped raising interest rates during its last session, it was the first piece of positive news for home owners and prospective buyers in a long time.

As a result, Florida mortgage loan applications have hit their highest level in 11 weeks, after rising for the second consecutive week, according to The Mortgage Bankers Association today in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. For the week ending Aug. 11, the Market Composite Index showed applications overall increased 1.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week.

“The Fed gave everyone in an adjustable rate mortgage a gift earlier this month by halting, at least in the interim, short-term rate hikes,” said Bob Walters, chief economist of Quicken Loans.

Walters added that, with long-term rates still near 20-year lows, and $2.5 trillion in existing ARMs, opportunistic homeowners thinking about Florida home loan refinancing out of ARMs into fixed-rate programs have created something of a mini refi boom.

“Last week’s drop in long-term rates also led to a surge in home buying activity as consumers locked in rates before they rise again.”

If this continues, first-time home buyers will be more anxious to enter the market. They’ll wish to secure reasonable rates on a Florida home mortgage before anything changes.