Clogged mortgage pipelines have created headaches for hundreds of thousands of Americans trying to take advantage of low mortgage rates, which the Mortgage Bankers Association said averaged 4.05 percent for the week ending April 27, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Those rates have helped thousands of Americans free up cash or retire debt. On average, borrowers that refinanced during the first quarter of 2012 reduced their first-year interest payments by $2,900, according to mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac. Overall, refinancing over the past three years has unlocked savings worth $46 billion in their first year, according to Moody's Analytics. It now takes the nation's biggest mortgage lenders an average of more than 70 days to complete a refinance, according to Accenture Credit Services, up from 45 days a year ago.
