Rate drop energizes mortgage refinancing - 2004-03-17
U.S. mortgage refinancing recieved its biggest boost in the more than a year last week from a sharp decrease in interest rates earlier this month, as homeowners, who may have missed out on last summer’s record low rates rushed to refinance.

“We just got a shot in the arm,” said Bob Moulton, president of Americana Mortgage Group Inc., a mortgage broker in Manhasset, New York. “I had a lot of people sitting on the fence, and it (the rate drop) was a catalyst for them.”
Read the full story at MSNBC

Is Mortgage Mania Back? - 2004-03-17
The joy in becoming a homeowner is intoxicating; the gratification in refinancing a mortgage and remodeling the bathroom, uplifting.

New home purchases mean business for everyone from mortgage lenders to home-furnishing stores. With consumer spending accounting for roughly two-thirds of the economy's growth, home buying functions as one heck of a catalyst.
Read the full story at Smart Money