US mortgage applications rose for a second straight week, fuelled by demand for home loans as interest rates sank to their lowest since May, an industry group's figures showed today.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and refinance loans, rose 5.5 per cent for the week ended September 7th.
Applications were 12.5 per cent above their year-ago level. But the four-week moving average of mortgage applications, which smooths the volatile weekly figures, was down 0.8 per cent to 634.2.
Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.25 per cent, down 0.17 percentage point from the previous week, their lowest since the week ended May 18th when they stood at 6.23 per cent.
Interest rates were also below year-ago levels at 6.32 per cent. Yields on 10-year US Treasury notes, which are linked to mortgage rates, fell last week for a fourth straight week to a 19-month low as investors grew more confident the Federal Reserve will cut benchmark rates at its policy-making meeting on September 18th.
The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase index rose 5.2 per cent to 448.0. The index was 9.2 per cent above its year-earlier level. The group's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications rose to 1,876.6, 6 per cent above the prior week. The index was up 17.5 per cent from a year earlier.