Refinance Report - October 2017

October 2017 Highlights

Total refinance volume increased in October 2017 as mortgage rates in September remained below the levels observed at the beginning of the year.  Mortgage rates increased in October: the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 3.90 percent from 3.81 percent in September.

In October 2017:

• Borrowers completed 2,184 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,479,901.
• HARP volume represented 2 percent of total refinance volume.
• Seven percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.   

Year to date through October 2017:

• Borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 19 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 5 or more percent of total refinances in Nevada, Illinois, and Florida -- more than double the 2 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 U.S. territory accounted for over 60 percent of the nation's HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of June 30, 2017.