Mortgage lending declined to the lowest level in 14 years in the first quarter as homeowners pulled back sharply from refinancing and house hunters showed little appetite for new loans, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Lenders originated $235 billion in mortgage loans during the January-March quarter, down 58 percent from the same period a year ago and down 23 percent from the fourth quarter of 2013, according to industry newsletter Inside Mortgage Finance. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 4.5 percent last week, up from 3.6 percent last May, when interest rates shot up in reaction to the Federal Reserve's initial indication that it might reduce a bond-buying campaign that was, in part, designed to keep a lid on long-term rates like mortgages.
