October 2018 Highlights 

• Total refinance volume increased in October 2018 after falling throughout most of the year in response to rising mortgage rates. Mortgage rates increased in October: the average interest rate on a 30‐year fixed rate mortgage rose to 4.83 percent from 4.63 percent in September.

In October 2018:

• Borrowers completed 507 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,493,512.
• HARP volume represented 1 percent of total refinance volume.
• Six percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan‐to‐value ratio greater than 125 percent.

​Year to date through October 2018: 

• Borrowers with loan‐to‐value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 16 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
• Thirty‐four 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.
• HARP refinances represented 2 percent of total refinances in Florida, Georgia and Illinois compared to 1 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.
  
• Nine states and one territory accounted for over 70 percent of the nation's HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of June 30, 2018.