A little passion for mortgage rate
Those homeowners are hoping to take advantage of the lower rates before they go up again. Many real estate analysts have called the flurry of mortgage refinancing activity a "mini boom. " It would be a larger one, they say, if new lending practices were not so tight and values were not so low. Some homeowners no longer have enough equity to qualify for mortgage refinancing, due to lower home values. In Ventura County in California, for example, it is estimated that of the properties purchased there within the last five years, about 40 percent are now worth less than their purchase prices.