Low Rates Boost Sales Of Homes at Torrid Pace
PUBLISHED CORRECTIONS: The Mortgage Bankers Association of America corrected its forecast of U.S. home-loan volume for 2003 to $1.77 trillion. An article in the Oct. 26 Business section reported the association's erroneous forecast of $1.57 trillion. (Published 10/ 29/02)</br></br>Capitalizing on the best mortgage rates in about 40 years, home buyers and owners sent sales of new and existing houses to new highs last month and refinanced at an unparalleled pace, according to three reports released yesterday.</br></br>Sales of new houses rose 0.4 percent in September to a record seasonally adjusted rate of 1.021 million, the Commerce Department reported. The new rate beats a record of 1.017 million units set in August and should result in a year-end total higher than the annual record of 908,000 set last year, according to the National Association of Home Builders.</br></br>Sales of existing homes rose last month at an even stronger pace - - 1.9 percent -- to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.4 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. The rate in August was 5.3 million. The trade group predicts home resales will also hit an all-time high this year of about 5.5 million units. That would beat the 2001 number by 3.2 percent.</br></br>The low mortgage rates have also led to the biggest refinancing boom ever. The combination of buying and refinancing led mortgage lenders to sharply revise their forecasts of loan volume.