Fewer apply for home loans; credit line delinquencies up

Fewer Americans applied for mortgages last week and more have been missing payments on their home equity lines of credit, according to surveys released Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said applications for home loans fell 8.2% last week from the week before. The figures were seasonally adjusted.

As mortgage rates dropped slightly, refinancings accounted for a smaller share of mortgage applications -- 79.8% of the total, down from 82.9% two weeks ago.

The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages increased to 5.07% from 5.03% with the average upfront fee known as points decreasing to 1.16% of the loan’s value from 1.24%. Those figures apply to loans of no more than 80% of a property’s value.

The average interest rate for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.67% from 4.79%, with the upfront fee falling to 1.16% from 1.26%.

The average contract interest rate for one-year adjustable-rate mortgages decreased to 5.9% from 6.15%, with the average fee falling to 0.31% from 0.44%.

Also Wednesday, the American Bankers Assn. said record numbers of borrowers had missed payments on home equity lines of credit during the third quarter.

The trade group’s latest report on late payments for consumer loans said delinquencies on car loans that banks made indirectly through auto dealers also were at the highest levels the group had ever recorded.

By contrast, consumers were missing fewer payments on credit cards.

“While some people are relying on credit cards to meet daily expenses like food and gas, many are being careful not to add new debt,” economist James Chesen said in a statement issued by the association.

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