There is still a wide pool of potential homeowners hoping to lock in a mortgage, according to the Federal Reserve July 2013 Senior Loan Officer Survey.
The survey is based on responses from 73 domestic banks and 22 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.
The demand for prime residential mortgages became moderately stronger over the past 3 months, according 57% of banks surveyed.
Additionally, 6 out of 32 banks reported moderately stronger demand in nontraditional residential mortgages.
Home equity lines of credit also experienced an increase apart from normal seasonal variations, with 17 out of 68 banks, or 25%, saying they had moderately stronger demand.
While overall demand may be spiking, lending standards have become somewhat tighter than the average since 2005.
Almost 23% of banks said prime residential mortgages with a conforming loan balance and FHA and VA loan standards were somewhat tighter.
This is happening at the same time as the industry is shifting to a purchase driven market, with refinance applications reaching their lowest level in more than two years.
