Refinance Report - May 2016

May 2016 Highlights

Total refinance volume increased in May 2016 as rates remained below the levels observed at the end of 2015. Mortgage rates decreased in May: the average interest rate on a 30‐year fixed rate mortgage fell to 3.60 percent from 3.61 percent in April.

In May 2016:

• Borrowers completed 6,091 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,412,982.
• HARP volume represented 4 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 though May 2016:

• Borrowers with loan‐to‐value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 22 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
• Twenty six 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 9 or more percent of total refinances in Florida and Georgia, more than double the 4 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 eligi​ble loans with a refinance incentive as of December 31, 2015.