| Mortgage applications spike after Fed action
U.S. mortgage applications jumped by nearly 50 percent last week as home loan rates fell after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates and took steps to restore bond market confidence, an industry trade group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association's mortgage applications index jumped 48.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 965.9 in the week ended March 21, its highest level since early February. An 82 percent surge in refinancing applications overshadowed a 10.6 percent rise in home purchase loan requests, lifting total applications from the previous week, when home loan demand sank to the lowest since end-December. "The Federal Reserve acted last week to bring some stability to the mortgage-backed securities market and we saw an immediate impact with a drop in mortgage rates," Jay Brinkmann, the MBA's vice president of research and economics, said in a release.
Some Hawaii mortgage rates slightly lower
Mortgage rates were mixed at Hawaii's largest banks this week, while the national average for a 30-year fixed-rate loan remained relatively flat. Bank of Hawaii, which had the lowest rate among the four banks last week at 5.25 percent, this week offered a 30-year fixed rate mortgage for 5.5 percent and 1.75 points, according to the survey by the Honolulu Board of Realtors. First Hawaiian Bank lowered its rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan to 5.375 percent with 1.25 points, down from 5.75 percent and no points. American Savings Bank inched up to 5.625 percent with 1.625 points for a 30-year loan, while Central Pacific HomeLoans, which did not participate in last week's survey, offered 5.5 percent with 1.5 points. Nationally, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 5.85 percent with an average 0.4 points, down slightly from last week, when the rate averaged 5.87 percent, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.
Entrepreneurs labor over health-care costs
Niagara County businesseswoman Cathey Sandman decided to drop health insurance coverage for herself and her husband earlier this year after their monthly premiums grew larger than their mortgage payments. Less than two weeks later, Sandman, whose licensed day care in Lockport serves 21 children, was in the hospital having her appendix removed. She's now facing a $10,000 bill. "It came down to buying groceries and paying the electric bill, or buying health insurance," Sandman said. "It became a real crunch on what I could do with my business." State legislators heard Sandman's story -- and other similar tales of struggle -- from about 100 small business advocates today at the Capitol. The group, mostly small business owners, spent the day lobbying legislators on one issue: stopping proposed state budget initiatives that would add to the mounting costs of health insurance.
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