Tag Archives: Refinance

Just when the industry thought mortgage interest rates could not get any lower, they dropped further for the fifth consecutive week.

Low mortgage rates present opportunities for homeowners to refinance their homes, but recent data and analysis shows that they are not taking advantage of billions of dollars in savings.

More American households are saving money, reducing their interest rates, and stabilizing or shortening their loans by refinancing their mortgage.

Mortgage lenders stand to gain more business from 30-year mortgage holders who qualify and could benefit from refinancing, but the refinancing population is shrinking at a rapid rate. So where are all the eligible refinancers?

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency third quarter Refinance Report, a total of 25,824 HARP refinances were completed between July and September, down from the 31,561 refinances completed from April to June.

Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey showed that mortgage loan application volume decreased 1.3 percent from last week on a seasonally adjusted basis.

First American released their Loan Application Defect Index for September 2015 on Wednesday, which reflects estimated mortgage loan defect rates over time, by geography and by loan type, and estimates the frequency of defects in the information submitted in mortgage loan applications. According to the Index, loan defects in mortgage applications declined 1.2 percent from August to September. The Index is now down 20.6 percent from the high point of risk in October 2013.

A rise in refinance activity boosted mortgage applications up 3.6 percent from last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending August 14, 2015.

A total of 6.5 million borrowers could qualify for and benefit from traditional refinances and the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), according to the Data and Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services latest Mortgage Monitor Report, based on data as of the end of May 2015.

In their monthly Mortgage Monitor Report, Black Knight reports the number of potential refinance candidates currently sits at 7.1 million, a substantial increase form just 4.1 million potential borrowers in February 2014. However, Black Knight’s SVP of Loan Data Products, Trey Barnes, says that number is fragile. According to Barnes, any increases in mortgage rates could cause that number to drop, even marginally.