According to Inside Mortgage Finance, the mortgage market in 2019 had its best year since the height of the precrisis boom, the latest sign that housing is firming up after showing signs of weakness early last year.
Lenders extended $2.4 trillion in home loans last year, the most since 2006. That was a 46% increase from 2018.
A refinancing frenzy, induced by last year’s trio of interest-rate cuts, fueled the mortgage making and helped steady the industry. The refinancing boom also bodes well for the broader economy, since homeowners saving on their monthly mortgage payments are likely to spend more on goods and services.
The average rate on the 30 year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.74% at the end of 2019, down from 4.55% a year earlier. Freddie Mac reports that the average rate is now around 3.6%, its lowest level in more than three months.
Reported by Orla McCaffrey, Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2020.
