February 10, 2006
Home mortgage business drops

With the Fed having raised interest rates by 25 basis points, home mortgage rates have also firmed up. Higher interest mortgage rates have led to a considerable fall in mortgage application rates. A decline of 5.1 percent for all mortgage applications was recorded for the week ended January 27. For the home loan section, the fall was even more exacerbated and the purchase mortgage index fell a full 8%. This is one of key index for gauging the health of the US realty market.

With Allan Greenspan having made a remark last year that the realty market is taking proportions of a bubble, people now seem to be watching the situation in expectation that property prices might start to fall. Others have merely deferred their decision, due to the rate hike and may take a little longer to close their deals.