Mortgage demand in U.S. falls to lowest level in 2 months

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Mortgage demand in the United States has fallen to its lowest level in two months, experts say largely because there's no incentive to borrow or refinance.

Rates have remained mostly unchanged, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its weekly report Wednesday.

Mortgage applications fell by almost 2% last week, the report said, and interest rates remained at about 3.03%. The last time applications were at the present level was July, the MBA said.

"Economic data has sent mixed signals, with slower job growth but a further drop in the unemployment rate in August," Mike Fratantoni, MBA chief economist, said in a statement Wednesday.

"We expect that further improvements will lead to a tapering of Fed [mortgage-back security] purchases by the end of the year, which should put some upward pressure on mortgage rates."

Refinance applications were down 3% last week, Wednesday's report said.

Tuesday, the MBA said in a different study that the number of owners behind on mortgage payments decreased slightly from 3.25% to 3.23% last week.