Mortgage applications, rates fall

09.05.09
By Timothy Jones

Despite some positive economic news in recent weeks, it seems that there's no leveling off in the amount of people looking for  home loans as the weekly mortgage report from the Mortgage Bankers Association finds mortgage applications fell last week.

The Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found that applications for new mortgages decreased 3.1 percent for the week ending August 28. This marks the end of two straight weeks of gains for applications after the survey has reported a see-sawing of applications over the summer.

While this is a down week for applications of new mortgages, the MBA reports that last week's numbers are still 22.7 percent higher than they were a year ago.

The Refinance Index also took a dip, falling 3.1 percent over the week.

What might encourage homebuyers to apply for new mortgages and to refinance current home loans in coming weeks is continued low mortgage rates. According to the MBA, rates on 15- and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages declined over the week and remained at historically low levels.

Earlier this week Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac said these low mortgage rates have been a driver of home sales in recent months.

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Applications for new mortgages fell last week