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August 25, 2006
Home Refinancing Wave Still Rolling Across Country
This spring, cash-out refinancings recorded their highest market-share percentage in 16 years: a whopping 88 percent of all mortgages refinanced via Freddie Mac. During this year's April-through-June period, Freddie Mac reports that homeowners took out $81 billion in home equity via this method despite rising interest rates. Amy Crews Cutts, deputy chief economist for the government-sponsored enterprise, remarks, "Either they're serious about getting cash out for a home improvement or business, or they're seeing that reset down the pike and want to change into something that will be cheaper." For borrowers who used an adjustable-rate loan during the recent real-estate boom to buy a house they otherwise would not have been able to afford, the expiration of teaser-rate terms is a potentially looming problem.
Posted by S. Germain at August 25, 2006 08:49 AM