CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Mortgage rates remained flat last week, but applications filed for mortgages dropped a seasonally adjusted 10.7% compared with the week before, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey. Applications to refinance existing home loans fell 10.1% for the week ended Dec. 18 from the prior week, the Washington-based MBA said Wednesday. Its survey covers about half of all U.S. retail residential mortgage applications. The week-to-week volume of applications for mortgages to purchase homes dropped as well, down a seasonally adjusted 11.6%. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/weekly-mortgage-applications-drop-107-mba-2009-12-23
Confirmation of the obvious.........The parking lots in front of all of the mortgage bankers' offices here are empty.