INTEREST BOOST PUTS A STOP TO MORTGAGE REFINANCING BOOM
As interest rates on home loans fell to 45-year lows this summer, they helped bring in record revenues on home loans for banks and other local lenders.
But with a rise in interest rates since the end of July, five local lenders, including publicly traded companies such as Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin, said they’ve seen a drastic fall in mortgage refinancing activity. The fall, they said, has wiped out 25 percent to 50 percent of their total applications for home loans and promises to cut income from both mortgage closings and sales, affecting their bottom lines and their business strategies.
