NEW YORK: U.S. homeowners filed the most applications to refinance their current mortgages in over three years as 30-year borrowing costs slipped to their lowest levels since late 2016, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
The refinancing share of total applications grew to 62.7per cent, the biggest since September 2016, from 61.4per cent a week earlier. Mortgage rates have fallen in recent weeks in step with bond yields as investors have piled into low-risk government bonds to shield their money because of fears about a recession and trade tensions between China and the United States.Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell nearly 20 basis points last week, while the mortgage rates MBA tracks were mixed. This may be due to a 37per cent surge in refinancing applications the week before.