Boston Globe on refinancings

A story by Jenifer McKim on the front page of today's Boston Globe explores all the reasons why so many homeowners are unable to take advantage of today's historically low interest rates by refinancing their mortgages.  The two main reasons for this, according to the story, are a decrease on home values and a decrease in income of the borrower.  Listening to the many attorneys who come here to the registry to record documents, I would conclude that a major reason that's only alluded to in the story is a very strict appraisal process that's now in effect.  It sounds as if there are plenty of applications for potential refinancers, but most of those are not consummated making it likely that low-value appraisals are a big cause.  As I've mentioned before, it's too bad that more refinancings cannot occur.  Each presumable would lower the borrower's monthly payment which in turn would inject more money into the economy, making mortgage refinancings a type of low-cost economic stimulus program.