According to The Wall Street Journal, mortgage lending surged to a five-year high last year, primarily due to a sharp rise in refinancing as borrowers rushed to lock in the lowest mortgage rates in at least 60 years.
The report, which was released Wednesday by central-bank researchers, found that lenders originated nearly 9.8 million mortgages in 2012, up 38% from 7.1 million in 2011, which had been a 16-year low. Last year's levels, however, remained far short of lending volumes reached during the housing bubble and even before the bubble over a decade ago.
