Florida Mortgage Applications Up Sharply For Week

Florida mortgage applications rose for the first time in three weeks as interest rates fell sharply and demand surged for home purchase loans and refinancing.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said, in its seasonally adjusted index of applications, which includes both purchase and Florida refinance activity, that demand increased 8.1 percent to 656.5 in the week ending August 3.

That’s the highest point for the index since June.

The four-week moving average of Florida mortgage loan applications, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was up 1.2 percent to 626.0.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.41 percent, down by 0.09 percent. Interest rates were below year-ago levels at 6.45 percent.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase index, widely considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales, rose 7.4 percent to 447.4.

The Florida mortgage index was also above its year-earlier level of 388.9.

The seasonally adjusted index of Florida home mortgage refinancing applications soared 9.1 percent to 1,881.1, above its year-earlier level of 1,518.1.

The Florida refinance share of applications, meanwhile, increased to 39.9 percent from 39.4 percent the previous week.

Fixed 15-year mortgage rates, a popular refinancing option for many borrowers, averaged 6.16 percent, down from 6.20 percent.

Rates on one-year adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) decreased to 5.69 percent from 5.73 percent.

The ARM share of overall Florida home loan activity increased to 22.5 percent, up from 22.3 percent the previous week.

Housing industry indexes, in general, tend to be volatile, but recent data suggest a glimmer of hope may be on the horizon for the hard-hit sector.

The National Association of Realtors said that pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose at their fastest pace in more than three years in June.

SOURCE: Reuters