Refinance Report - January 2015

January 2015 Highlights

• Refinance volume decreased in January 2015. Mortgage rates continued to fall from the highs observed in late 2013. In January the average interest rate on a 30 year fixed rate mortgage reached 3.67 percent.
• In January 2015, 10,591 refinances were completed through HARP, bringing the total refinances through HARP from the inception of the program to 3,281,045.
• HARP volume represented 7 percent of total refinance volume in January 2015.
• In January 2015, borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 25 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
• In January 2015, 9 percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.
• In January 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.
• In January 2015, HARP refinances represented 17 percent of total refinances in Florida and 16 percent in Georgia, more than double the 7 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.