ATTOM: 3Q Refis Down 21%
ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., reported a sharp decline in refinance mortgage originations in the third quarter, as well as drops in originations for purchase loans and home equity lines of credit.
The company’s Q3 2018 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report said lenders originated 681,455 refinance mortgages totaling $175.1 billion secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) in the third quarter, down 15 percent from the previous quarter and down 21 percent from a year ago to the lowest level as far back as data is available (Q1 2000).
The report also noted lenders originated 892,760 residential purchase mortgages in the third quarter, down 5 percent from the previous quarter and down 2 percent from a year ago. ATTOM reported 313,744 HELOCs on residential properties in the third quarter, down 14 percent from the previous quarter and down 11 percent from a year ago.
“Rising mortgage rates continued to dampen demand for mortgages in the third quarter, particularly refinance mortgages,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. “There were some notable exceptions to that trend, primarily in markets affected by the hurricanes in the third quarter of 2017.”
Residential purchase mortgage originations decreased from a year ago in 121 of the 225 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report (54 percent), including New York (down 6 percent); Dallas-Fort Worth (down 5 percent); Chicago (down 14 percent); Phoenix (down 2 percent); and Los Angeles (down 14 percent).
Residential HELOC mortgage originations decreased from a year ago in 150 of the 225 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report (67 percent), including New York (down 14 percent); Los Angeles (down 18 percent); Seattle (down 3 percent); Chicago (down 27 percent); and Philadelphia (down 16 percent).
Counter to the national trend, residential HELOC mortgage originations increased from a year ago in 73 of the 225 metro areas analyzed in the report (32 percent), including Miami (up 4 percent); Tampa-St. Petersburg (up 22 percent); Kansas City (up 20 percent); Orlando (up 3 percent); and Omaha (up 11 percent).
ATTOM reported the median down payment on single family homes and condos purchased with financing in the third quarter was $20,250, up 7 percent from the previous quarter and up 16 percent from a year ago to a record high as far back as data is available, Q1 2000. The median down payment as a percentage of the median home sales price in the third quarter was 7.6 percent, up from 7.2 percent in the previous quarter and up from 6.8 percent in Q3 2017 to the highest since Q4 2003.
Residential loans backed by FHA accounted for 10.5 percent of all residential property loans originated in the third quarter, up from a more than 10-year low of 10.2 percent in the previous quarter but still down from 12.5 percent a year ago. Residential loans backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs accounted for 5.5 percent of all residential property loans originated in the third quarter, up from 5.4 percent in the previous quarter but still down from 6.6 percent a year ago.
