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Mortgage rates are reaching record lows, but it’s not necessarily easy to refinance

January 16th, 2009

I just wrote a story with fellow Hot Property blogger, Chris Palmeri, about the flood of mortgage refinancing applications loan officers are fielding as interest rates hit record lows.

The Washington Post today has an interesting story that says that only about half of refinance applications are getting approved and that borrowers are increasing their odds by going to multiple lenders.

This graph from Freddie Mac gives you a sense of how fast interest rates fell after the Federal Reserve and Treasury announced Nov. 25 that it plans to buy up to $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities.

(It's a bit hard to read but the graph shows the ups and downs from Jan. 3, 2008 to Jan. 15,2009. Rates start plummeting after 11/20/08.)

Entry Filed under: News