Highlights
The purchase index from the Mortgage Bankers Association continues its wild spirals, jumping 11 percent in the Jan. 11 week to 461.2. Dislocations in the credit market have unraveled MBA's data as prospective homeowners have had to change the way they pursue financing. The report offered no explanation for the latest jump. But one reason behind the wild move is the holiday season, which apparently had an enormous effect on the refinance index which soared a startling 43 percent to 3,575.5. But lower interest rates are also behind the rise in refinancing as 30-year fixed mortgages averaged 5.62 percent, down 11 basis points in the week. These results are too choppy to have any effect on the financial markets or the outlook for housing, unlike this afternoon's housing market index from the National Association of Homebuilders.