- theMReport.com - https://themreport.com -

Lower Mortgage Rates in November Increase Refis

Refinances by the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increased in December 2017, according to the Fourth Quarter Refinance Report released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Wednesday.

Together, both the GSEs completed more than 446,295 refinances during the quarter. The report indicated that the increase in refis during the last month of 2017 was on the back of mortgage rates remaining below the levels observed at the beginning of the year. In December, mortgage rates increased to 3.95 percent from 3.92 percent the month before, the report indicated.

In December, the GSEs completed 6,309 refinances through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), representing 1 percent of total refinance volume during the month. After adding the December numbers, the total refinances by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through this program from the time of its inception stood at over 3.4 million.

According to the report, from inception to December 2017, more than 2.9 million loans refinanced through HARP were for primary residences, 110,562 were for second homes and 462,325 were for investment properties.

Over the year, borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 19 percent of the volume of HARP loans. The report indicated that 26 percent of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter-term 15- and 20-year mortgages, which build equity faster than traditional 30-year mortgages.

Other highlights of the report included: