Article: Home-equity lines still hot

Rising mortgage rates have burst the refinancing bubble, but borrowers continue to pour into home-equity lines of credit.

The number of people refinancing has tumbled sharply since interest rates began climbing in June. Home-equity lines, however, are tied to a different lending rate -- the prime rate -- which remains at a 45-year low. As a result, some homeowners who might otherwise have refinanced are looking to home-equity lines as a means of getting cash out of their house. Banks are also beefing up their marketing efforts and rolling out a variety of new products designed to encourage more customers to use home-equity lines.

As recently as December 2000, rates on home-equity lines ...

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