Banks eager to promote home equity lines of credit - 2003-09-15
Lenders in Texas are already hurrying to sign up customers for home equity lines of credit, which voters okayed Saturday.

Lines of credit extended by U.S. banks and thrifts surged from $137 billion to $296 billion in the three years that ended June 30, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Appreciation in home prices and low mortgage rates helped boost the loans.
Read the full story at Miami Herald

Mortgage rates a quarter percent lower - 2003-09-15
Not so good news about jobs bred joyful news about mortgage rates.

The day the government announced that 93,000 jobs exited the U.S. economy in August, long-term interest rates dived. They dropped a quarter of a percentage point in a week.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 25 basis points to 6.22 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders.
Read the full story at Bankrate.com