Rising unemployment and what seems like a shrinking U.S. economy has strapped consumers looking for relief by way of Mortgage Refinance. Those seeking lower monthly payments on current Loans seem to be raising the number of applications. The current percentage increase for this week ending January the ninth, of 2009, includes both mortgage refinance and original loans, which is the highest combined, percentage increase since 2003.



The purchase market shows growth much slower than that of the refinance market, but everyone is hoping the low mortgage rates will create demand for new Mortgage applications. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage refinance applications rose from 79.8 to 85.3 the previous week, which is the highest jump for the Refinance sector since the early 90's.

Mortgage Refinance has already started to show an increase in applications contributed by the weakening economy as consumers are finding ways to reduce their costs. Climbing unemployment rates in hand with the slowing economy has contributed to shaky financial markets affecting the amount of buyers applying for mortgage finance.

Watching for any positive change in a situation where there seems to be little sign of recovery even with a significant rise in applications for Mortgage Refinance, it is somewhat easy to become excited about the refinance boom we are experiencing. But it does not alleviate the concerns surrounding the unemployment rate and economic upheaval.

Some Analysts believe that people are still not comfortable with the forecast of the housing market, no matter how low the interest rates are, if job security is in question, it will directly affect income stream. In order to benefit from low mortgage rates or a Mortgage Refinance, the consumer needs to find a way through this economic uncertainty.

One online real estate service claims that loan requests are up over 200 percent from two months ago. Companies that offer services for the mortgage industry have stated they are working twice as hard to handle the increase in volume of Mortgage Refinance requests and will try to avoid hiring more employees looking for the normal rise in rates once the market settles. Applications for mortgage refinance jumped 25.6 percent. And last week's mortgage applications helped its four week average rising by 10.8 percent.

The numbers for the day pertaining to The Index came in below a previous level from a year ago with a 35.9% drop and an eight year as of November of 2008. The Mortgage Bankers Association shows their seasonally adjusted purchase index has fallen 14.1% and we will see how soon it can make it back up.

Currently, 30 year mortgage rates in this Nation have dramatically declined. The Federal Government, prompted by the dive of the market, has been put in a position to keep consumers cost of borrowing down by buying $500 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities, announced in November of 2008, by The Federal Reserve. Rates may stay low for only a few months, so if you are looking at a Mortgage Refinance, now is a great time to lock in.