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Mortgage Requests Reach Record



NEW YORK (Reuters) - A record number of Americans filed applications for mortgages to buy homes last week, an industry trade group said on Wednesday, as the lowest rates since July drew buyers into the market.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its purchase index rose 12.5 percent to 501.6, the highest level since the group began its weekly survey in 1990, after the 30-year mortgage rate fell to 5.55 percent, its lowest level since the week ended July 11.

The mortgage market has been a crucial prop to the economy for two years, as low borrowing rates have made homes more affordable.

Last week, lower rates also led to a 51.5 percent jump in refinancing applications, bringing the trade group's refinancing index to 3,327.3, its highest level since the week ended Aug. 1.

Rising refinancing and purchase applications lifted the industry group's index of overall mortgage market activity, its market index, by 30.4 percent to 916.1, also the highest level since the week ended Aug. 1.