According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, it’s a great time to buy a house if you have a near-perfect credit record, or to refinance a home loan if you have equity. But for the millions of Americans struggling to get by or just find a job, getting into the housing market is out of the question, which helps explain the recent bad news pertaining to mortgage applications. Requests for home loans dropped 3.1% earlier this month, marking the lowest level since December 1996. Since first-time homeowner tax credits ended on April 30, applications for mortgage loans have fallen in nine of ten weeks.