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Refinance Report

Refinance Report - Fourth Quarter 2015

Published: 2/17/2016
  • Total refinance volume fell slightly in December 2015 as mortgage rates hovered just below four percent over the previous four months. Mortgage rates rose in December: the average interest rate on a 30‐year fixed rate mortgage increased to 3.96 percent from 3.94 percent in November.
  • In the fourth quarter of 2015, 21,079 refinances were completed through HARP, bringing total refinances through HARP from the inception of the program to 3,380,558.​
  • HARP volume represented 5 percent of total refinance volume in the fourth quarter of 2015.
  • Year to date through December 2015, borrowers with loan‐to‐value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 24 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
  • In December 2015, 7 percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan‐to‐value ratio greater than 125 percent.
  • Year to date through December 2015, 28 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.
  • Year to date through December 2015, HARP refinances represented 12 or more percent of total refinances in Florida and Georgia, more than double the 5 percent of total refinances nationwide over the same period.
  • Borrowers who refinanced through HARP had a lower delinquency rate compared to borrowers eligible for HARP who did not refinance through the program.​

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