Mortgage Applications Reach 8-Year Low

"The nation’s financial crisis is clearly keeping would-be home buyers out of the market in droves, and the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday morning that its index of purchase and refinance mortgage application activity reach its lowest level in eight years. The trade group’s weekly survey for the week ended Oct. 17 found that applications fell 16.6 percent to 408.1, and were off 44 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."