The mortgage market in the United States has been one of popular
conversation so far throughout this year with constant record lows
having been reported seemingly every month. In fact, in 2012 we
have had many postings specifically on the topic dating back to
March. It was here when we shared Zillows information that on the
7th of February the 30-year-fixed mortgage rates dropped to
new lows from 3.72% to
3.66%. Soon after on July 5th it was noted from Freddie Mac
that these rates had plummeted even further to
3.62%. Mere weeks later, Freddie Macs survey of what lenders
offer their borrowers stated that the 30-year-fixed mortgage
rates were now at 3.53%. A more recent reporting on the subject
came in August when the 30-year fixed mortgage
dropped to 3.49% on July 26th whereas the same time a year
prior it was hovering around 4.55%.
However recently things have changed slightly. Demand for
refinancing has eased 2% while mortgage applications are down.
Despite refinancing applications slowing, they nonetheless are
still at three-year highs. Furthermore, purchase applications, on
the other hand, indeed did rise 2.4%, their highest levels since
June of this year. This figure in particular, it must be noted, is
an extremely strong indication that home sales are improving. The
Mortgage Bankers Association actually reported for October that
their figures for home purchase demand as well as refinancing,
better known as their seasonally adjusted index for mortgage
activity, fell 1.2% on October 5th.
To the 30-year-fixed mortgage rates as mentioned above, these
recent findings saw them ascend to 3.56% which was up from the
3.53% where they were a week ago. For those individuals looking to
buy a home these rates must still leave one very optimistic as the
levels are still near the all-time lows recorded of late during the
Federal Reserves program to boost the economy. Finally, the Fed
under the program known as Quantitative Easing, or QE3, also
released in September that they will be purchasing $40 Billion in
mortgage-backed securities each month until the Nations job market
improves even more.
More Information: Reuters