U.S. mortgage activity jumps as rates fall

Mortgage activity jumped 30 percent this week, according to Mortech-MortgageDaily.com, which measures the number of mortgage rate inquiries by loan originators and mortgage bankers in its database. Much of that activity was spurred by refinancing. Inquiries in the refinancing realm jumped to 61 percent this week from just over 50 percent one week earlier. Meanwhile, mortgage rates fell this week, according to data from Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage came in at and average of 4.58 percent, down from 4.69 percent last week, and the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.04 percent. Last week, the 15-year mortgage was at 4.13 percent. “While fixed mortgage rates were already at record lows, investors — who drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average down below 10,000 — fled to the relative security of U.S. Treasury bonds, pushing mortgage rates even lower this week,” said Don Kracl, president of Mortech. “We suspect new mortgage activity might continue at an elevated level through next week.” TRD