May 2017 Highlights

Total refinance volume fell in May 2017 as mortgage rates in April remained over half a percent higher than the lows observed in 2016. Mortgage rates decreased in May: the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 4.01 percent from 4.05 percent in April.

In May 2017:

• Borrowers completed 3,291 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,467,881.
• HARP volume represented 3 percent of total refinance volume.
• Five percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.

Year to date through May 2017:

• Borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 19 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
• Twenty-five 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 6 or more percent of total refinances in Nevada, and Florida, double the 3 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.

Ten states accounted for over 60 percent of the nation's HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of December 31, 2016.