Mortgage Demand Hits Record High

U.S. mortgage demand reached a record high last week, as homeowners and home buyers shrugged off a modest uptick in mortgage interest rates from record lows set the previous week, a U.S. industry group said.

“The fence-sitters jumped last week,” said Douglas Duncan, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn. said its weekly barometer of mortgage request volume, on a seasonally adjusted basis, rose to a record high of 1,238.2 for the week ended Sept. 6, up 17% from the previous week. The latest mortgage market reading eclipsed the previous high of 1,127.4 set for the week ended Aug 16.