Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Mortgage applications in the U.S. rose last week as refinancing jumped to the highest level in more than two years and filings for purchases rebounded.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to buy a home or refinance a loan increased 5.5 percent to 707.3, the highest this year. The group's refinancing gauge rose 6.4 percent and its purchase index climbed 4.8 percent.
Even with the rise, economists foresee little chance of recovery in the two-year housing slump until at least mid-2008, as stricter lending practices and a glut of unsold homes for sale prompt buyers to wait for further prices declines. A jump in subprime mortgage foreclosures could further weaken housing and the broader economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in congressional testimony last week.
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