US home loan applications up as refinance mortgage up - 2006-01-18
U.S. mortgage applications climbed for a second straight week, driven by a surge in refinance mortgage loans as interest rates dropped to their lowest level since October, an industry trade group declared on Wednesday. The increase in volume is viewed as more of a sign of borrowers' shrewdness than an energetic housing market as they took advantage of the relatively attractive long term rates.
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Housing Market, Why the sky isn't falling - 2006-01-18
We're all doomed. One forecaster says the U.S. is on the verge of a recession that will crush the stock market and the housing market. Another insists that inflation is about to explode and crimp your purchasing power. Even with higher mortgage rates, only a small percentage of homeowners will have difficulty to refinance and use home equity to pay down debt.
Read the full story at CNN