There were 1.69 million refinances in the second quarter, up over 100% year-over-year.
ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., released its second-quarter U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, showing 1.69 million refinance loans secured by residential properties (1 to 4 units) originated, up nearly 50 percent from the prior quarter and more than 100 percent from a year ago, to the highest level in seven years. The report said with interest rates hovering at historic lows of around 3 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, refinance loans originated in the second quarter represented an estimated $513 billion in total dollar volume. That number was up 130 percent from a year ago, to the highest point in nearly 17 years. Refinance loans helped drive the total number of home loans in the second quarter of 2020 up to 2.72 million, an 11-year high. Homeowners rolling over their loans into new ones accounted for 62 percent of all lending activity in the second quarter, up from 54.5 percent of loans in the first quarter and from 39.6 percent a year ago. While refinancing activity soared, purchase activity dropped to just 28.8 percent of all home loans in the second quarter of 2020 and home equity lending or HELOCs declined to only 9.2 percent – the lowest levels in seven years. That happened as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the United States, stifling consumer spending and prompting untold numbers of potential home seekers abiding by social distancing recommendations to stay out of the housing market.
Source: ATTOM Data Solutions