NEW YORK — The lowest mortgage rates in decades are just too good for some people to pass up.
Brokers are reporting rising interest in home refinancings as rates on 30-year fixed loans have hit record lows in four of the past five weeks. This week, the average rate fell to 4.56 percent, the lowest since mortgage company Freddie Mac began tracking rates in 1971.
Weekly applications to refinance home loans have nearly doubled in July from April, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
“If they can get a $100 difference in their monthly payment, they are going for it. I had one guy who was very excited to save $33 a month after refinancing into a 15-year loan,” said Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Michigan.
To be sure, the number of borrowers filling out applications each week is still about 40 percent lower than at the start of 2009. Rates were around 5 percent then.
And ultra-low rates have not persuaded many people to buy homes.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that home resales in June fell 5.1 percent from the previous month.
Refinancing a home loan often requires the homeowner to pay thousands of dollars in closing costs. Many people either don’t have the money or can’t qualify for a loan. And rates have been low for such a long time that many people may have already refinanced. It is not in their interest to do so again.
