Mortgage Applications Leap 48%

Low rates bring out the borrowers
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 24, 2008 9:42 AM CST
Mortgage Applications Leap 48%
Real Estate agent Ivan Gumucio places an open house sign on a bank-owned home for sale in Rancho Cordova, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

Mortgage applications skyrocketed last week, shooting up 48% from the previous week, and 124.6% over the same week last year, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey. The borrowing blowout was prompted by falling mortgage rates, which left the 30-year fixed-rate at its lowest level since June 2003, the Wall Street Journal reports. The survey included about half of all US mortgage applications.

Some 83.2% of all applications were refinancing, up from 76.9% the previous week, and the share of applications for ARMs dropped from 1.1% to 0.8%. (More mortgage stories.)

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