Adjustable-rate mortgage applications rise in Tampa Bay alongside climbing interest rates

Adjustable-rate mortgage applications hit a 14-year high of 11% of total mortgage applications in May, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association report. ARMs, which played a central role in the 2008 housing market collapse, are trending upward in Tampa Bay alongside rising interest rates, but they aren’t a reason for concern, according to Bank of Tampa Pinellas Market President Owen LaFave. “The product has changed a lot since the last [economic] cycle. It’s not as risky,” LaFave told…Original Article