The VA

Mortgage credit availability increased in October from the previous month, as mortgage lenders increased their product offerings outside the government market, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The dollar volume of mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs rose nearly 9% in the past fiscal year as interest-rate reduction refinancing loans surged nearly 75%.

It was activity at the upper end of the housing market that helped to keep mortgage application volume level with the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

From the Tennessee-Kentucky border through coastal North Carolina, here are the 15 metro areas where millennial VA purchase-loan activity increased the most over the past fiscal year.

Mortgage applications increased slightly from one week earlier even as rates reached their highest level since July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Interest rate swings during this past week resulted in a decline in both refinance and purchase mortgage applications compared with the previous period, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage applications increased 0.5% from one week earlier, although interest rate instability affected consumers' ability to get the best price for their loan, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Department of Veterans Affairs distributed more than $400 million in refunded home loan fees after finding exempt borrowers were mistakenly charged due to clerical errors related to their disability status.

Mortgage applications jumped 5.2% from one week earlier as a drop in rates caused another surge in refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

September's increase in mortgage credit availability was driven by the expansion of jumbo products to record levels, which overcame a retrenchment in both conforming and government programs, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.