It could be the continued drop in home prices or the fear that the economy will not recover. It would be that the end of federal government tax credits for home buyers are ending or that rates n 30-year fixed home loans rose about 5%.
Whatever the cause, “The Mortgage Bankers Association today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 9, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 9.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9.5 percent compared with the previous week. This is the third lowest Market Index recorded in the survey since the end of June 2009. “
“Applications for government mortgages dropped substantially last week, following the implementation of an increase in FHA mortgage insurance premiums,” said Mike Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics. “Applications for conventional mortgages also dropped last week, with refinance application volume continuing to drop following last week’s jump in rates.”
It would seem likely that the effects of this will be a further drop in sales of new and existing homes.
Douglas A. McIntrye
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