Housing to Maintain Strength Despite Higher Mortgage Rates, Says NAR - 2003-08-07
Even with a significant increase in mortgage interest rates in recent weeks, housing markets are expected to continue at strong levels of activity for the balance of the year.

David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said mortgage interest rates are still fairly low. "Fixed mortgage interest rates recently were below 6 percent -- that is very much the exception to the norm and led to better than expected home sales during the first half of the year," he said.
Read the full story at U.S. Newswire

Refinancing Activity Dips Slightly, Purchase Mortgage Applications Up in Latest MBA Survey - 2003-08-07
The Mortgage Bankers Association of America’s (MBA’s) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey unveiled today indicated that the Market Composite Index of mortgage loan applications – a measure of mortgage loan applications for purchases and refinancings – for the week ending August 1 increased by 1.1 percent to 983.2 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 972.4 one week earlier.
Read the full story at Mortgage Bankers Association