Current mortgage trends around the United States and in Nevada have
seen a 1.8% rise in applications. This could be due to the decline in
fixed rate mortgage rates. Low percentage Nevada fixed
rate mortgages can be more beneficial than adjustable rate mortgages
because the rate is very low and can not be raised.
Compared with a year ago, mortgage application volumes are down 26.1%,
but applications for purchase mortgages in Nevada have risen 3.7%. This
coincides with other data that shows the housing
market could be cooling down significantly.
After hitting a five-month high, Nevada applications for home refinance
loans fell 0.9%. Home refinancing loans
accounted for 41% of loans, which is down from 41.5% the previous week.
Spreads have been tightening more and more between adjustable rates
and fixed rates. ARM’s accounted for just 26.2% of loans, the
lowest ARM share in nearly three years. 30 year mortgage rates fell
as well from 6.39% to 6.31%. This is the lowest rate rates have been
since March. In the past eight weeks, 30 year fixed rates have fallen
almost 50 basis-points.
A popular Nevada refinancing
loan, the 15 year fixed loan, fell from 6.06% to 5.97%. This is its
lowest rate since March. The average rate for a one-year ARM fell from
5.97% to 5.91%.
The 40 basis-point spread between the 30 year fixed
loan and the ARM matched the tightest spread since January 2001.
The spread widened to as much as 297 basis points in August 2003, a
key factor in generating the popularity of ARM’s.