Mortgage applications rise on refinancing activity

Borrowers attempting to refinance at record low interest rates rushed the market after the Memorial Holiday weekend, prompting mortgage applications to jump 13% for the week ending June 10, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. Interest rates that wooed borrowers include 4.51% for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, which is down slightly from 4.54% a week earlier, and the 15-year FRM, which remained unchanged at 3.67%. The trade group noted substantial increases in both its refinance and purchase indices. The refinance index rose 16.5% last week from the previous week, while the seasonally adjusted purchase index jumped 4.5%. “Mortgage rates have declined for eight of the past nine weeks,” MBA Vice President of Research and Economics said Michael Fratantoni said. “Coming off of the Memorial Day holiday, refinance application volume increased significantly, as borrowers jumped to lock in the lowest mortgage rates since last November. The volume of refinance applications still remains 28% below levels seen at that time, as borrowers with an incentive to refinance remain constrained from doing so by lack of equity in their homes.” The four-week moving average for the seasonally adjusted market index rose 2.4% with the purchase index up 0.3%. The refinance index increased 3.1% and the refinancings accounted for 70% of all applications, up from 67.3% a week earlier. Write to Kerri Panchuk.