Mortgage Applications Fall Again

[marmar]

from 24/7WallStreet:



Mortgage interest rates remain historically low, but buyers are either unwilling or unable to take advantage of the low rates. After three straight weeks of increases in mortgage applications, borrowers backed off last week. This spells more trouble for homebuilders.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the number of mortgage applications fell by -10% last week. Of that total, there were -2.3% fewer applications for new purchases and -12% fewer applications for refinancing. Refinancing accounted for 77.3% of all mortgage applications last week, down from 78.6% in the previous week, which might be slightly better news for new home builders if the total number of applications for new homes had increased.

As it is, builders like KB Home (NYSE: KBH), Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI), and Beazer Homes USA Inc. (NYSE: BZH) will continue to face the dual headwinds of higher inventory at lower prices and hard-to-get credit for new home buyers. The expected spate of foreclosed properties soon to hit the market is also expected to make matters even worse for the builders. ...............(more)

Read more: http://247wallst.com/2011/11/16/mortgage-applications-fall-again-kbh-len-phm-dhi-bzh-xhb/#ixzz1dy5xYUBp