Low interest rates entice area homeowners to refinance

Mortgage refinancing sees uptick in Dayton

DAYTON — Mortgage refinancings are heating up in the Dayton area as the weak economy, low inflation, stable home prices and public policy changes are lowering borrowing costs and shifting mortgage market behavior.

“It’s kind of a perfect storm,” said Greg Elmore, area sales manager at the Fifth Third Bank mortgage department. Elmore said he has seen an increase in refinances recently.

He is not alone.

“Many of my clients are refinancing,” said Bob Posner of Irongate Realtors in Dayton, who attributes the uptick to lowered borrowing costs. “Mortgage rates are at historically low numbers,” he said.

In the Dayton area, the average refinancing rate for a 30-year-fixed mortgage on a home worth $250,000 is 4.61 percent, according to bankrate.com. Nationally, average 30-year fixed rates are down to 4.74 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Overall, nearly 80 percent of all mortgage activity is through refinancing.

Much of the reason behind the low mortgage rates lies in anxiety over the economy. As investors worry about the prospect of a double dip recession, they shy away from risky securities such as stocks and gravitate toward Treasuries, thus pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to around 3 percent.

Since mortgage rates are pegged to Treasury yields, mortgage rates have also fallen to unusual lows.

Likewise, economic anxiety has reduced overall household consumption and, therefore, borrowing. This in turn has forced lenders to reduce rates to attract customers.