Mortgage Activity Mixed at Year End
Home loan demand closed out 2010 on a decline, with borrowing costs lingering at the highest levels seen in seven months.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, its index of refinance applications bumped up 3.9 percent in the last week of the year but skidded 7.2 percent in the prior week.

Its gauge of purchase loan requests, meanwhile, slipped 0.8 percent in the week ended Dec. 31 after climbing 3.1 percent in the week ended Dec. 24.

Source: "Mortgage Applications Ebbed at Year End: MBA," New York Times (Jan. 5, 2011)