Mortgage applications fall

Mortgage applications
nationwide decreased last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers
Association. The index of mortgage applications, which includes both
purchase and refinance loans, fell 15.1 percent for the week ending
February 20, after the index jumped 45.7 percent during the prior week. “With the continued debate over the stimulus package, people are still lacking the confidence to commit and are waiting to really pull the trigger once they are comfortable that prices and rates aren’t going to change drastically anymore,” said Leif Thomson, CEO of the
Massachusetts-based Mortgage Master. Mortgage applications last week
were 11.8 percent above their level during the same period last year.