Mortgage Applications have Decline by 6.3 percent in the past week according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. The weekly index fell from 528.9 to 495.4 in one week. Although the index decreased by 6% the sheer number of mortgage loans have increased if compared with just one year ago. The number of mortgage loans is actually up by 16.1 percent compared to last year.
So what does this mean? The market is much more active than it was a year ago and one week with a decrease of 6% is not bad considering the 16 percent increase from one year ago. The drop in the past week is probably due to the decrease in refinancing applications. There was a big boom in the refinance sector for the past few months and that is slowing down so it is sure to reflect in the number of loan applications.
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I noticed about a month ago talking to my mortgage friends that there was a spike in apps, but now that the buyers that are wanting to cash in on the $8,000 tax credit are already locked in to mortgage contracts, I don't see any new buyers coming out of the woodwork.
That could be it too. I am still finding a lot of people don't know about the $8000 tax credit. When I bring it up to my first time buyers, some of them are saying, "wow, really, we don't have to pay it back?"