Mortgage Demand Boosted by Refinancing as Rates Drop

Demand for U.S. home loans rose last week as a decline in 30-year fixed mortgage rates to a three-week low boosted applications for refinancing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. Average 30-year mortgage rates fell 0.19 percentage point to 5.17 percent in the week ended July 31, the lowest since 5.05 percent in the July 10 week. The drop in borrowing costs pushed refinance applications up 7.2 percent to 1,996.7 last week, lifting total loan requests by 4.4 percent to 517.3, based on the industry group's seasonally adjusted indexes.

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