Dive Brief:

• A decline in mortgage interest rates in October compelled more homeowners to refinance their loans, according to Capital Economics.

• Applications for refinancing jumped by 18.8% in October—an eight-month high—after interest rates dipped to a 17-month low of 4.19%.

• Economists, including those from Capital Economics, have predicted that interest rates will increase in 2015.

Dive Insight:

An increase in mortgage interest rates will likely kill the momentum among homeowners applying for refinancing loans, the report said. But its authors noted that applications for new loans could increase as the economy creates more jobs, incomes increase and credit becomes easier to obtain.