Homeowners said no to refinancing their homes despite mortgage interest rates dropping during the last week of June 2018. The average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed with conforming balances of $453,100 or less decreased to 4.79% from 4.84% the previous week.
Applications to refinance home mortgages fell -2% during this same last week in June; applications to refinance home mortgages fell an eye-popping -28% from that same week one year ago when interest rates were lower. The refinance share of mortgage activity fell to -37.2% of total applications from 37.6% the previous week.
Mike Fratantoni, chief economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association indicated that refinancing applications saw one of its weakest readings in the last 20 years.
Meanwhile, home remodeling appears to be recession proof. The Leading Indicator on Remodeling Activity, released in January by Harvard University, says that spending on home improvements and repairs was up +7.5% over such spending in 2017. This report also indicates that 2018 spending is expected to be the strongest in a decade…and that improvements and repairs spending will stay steady and strong into 2019.
Hey, isn’t home improvements and repairs spending strong during recessions and home buying and refinancing strong for good times?
