Mortgage Applications Rise

Forbes: Applications for U.S. home loans rose slightly last week, an industry group said Wednesday.


The Mortgage Bankers Association said its weekly mortgage index, which measures the volume of applications for loans to buy or refinance homes, rose 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. An increase in new home loans outweighed a decrease in applications for refinancing mortgages.


Mortgage lenders have been tightening lending criteria in recent months after a surge in defaults and foreclosures. Lenders catering to home buyers with weak, or subprime, credit, have seen a spike in loan defaults, and many have gone bankrupt or sold off their subprime businesses. More...