MBA predicts rise in rates, drop in demand in 2011 mortgage market

While average 30-year mortgage rates are still below 5 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, that’s set to change in 2011, experts say. The MBA has shed some light on what it expects for the mortgage market in the coming year, predicting rates near 6 percent by 2012 and an overall decrease in demand for mortgages throughout the year. And while refinancings have accounted for a whopping portion of mortgage activity in recent months, around 80 percent throughout much of 2010, the MBA predicts a precipitous decline in refis during 2011, shrinking to below 40 percent of total mortgages. [Investopedia via msnbc]