Interest rates were down and mortgage activity was up last week, according to the latest data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
And this week, even lower rates are possible for people who qualify.
This entry at Total Mortgage notes that Freddie Mac today is reporting the current average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is 4.57 percent, for the lowest rate since Freddie Mac started keeping track in 1971.
Meanwhile, the bankers association survey for actual transactions last week showed that the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 4.59 percent, from 4.69 percent the week before. This was the lowest 30-year contract rate ever recorded in that survey as well, the bankers association said.
The average interest rate for a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 4.05 percent, from 4.12 percent previously.
The data from last week also showed many more people were refinancing mortgages than taking out new ones. The survey found refinance activity made up nearly 80 percent of all mortgage applications last week, an increase of 8.6 percent in refinances from the previous week.
But purchase activity, for the first time in many weeks, also was up, showing a 3.4 percent increase in applications. That's some good news for the housing industry, at least for existing homes for sale. Demand for new home construction is still low.
The banker association survey covers more than 50 percent of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications, and it has been done weekly since 1990. Mortgage bankers, commercial banks and thrifts respond to the survey.
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