Refinance Report - July 2018

July 2018 Highlights

Total refinance volume decreased in July 2018 as mortgage rates in June remained above the levels observed in 2017.  Mortgage rates decreased in July: the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage fell to 4.53 percent from 4.57 percent in June. 

In July 2018:

• Borrowers completed 696 refinances through HARP, bringing total refinances from the inception of the program to 3,491,836.
• HARP volume represented 1 percent of total refinance volume.
• Eight percent of the loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.

Year to date through July 2018:

• Borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 16 percent of the volume of HARP loans.
• Thirty-three 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 3 percent of total refinances in 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.

Ten states accounted for over 70 percent of the nation's HARP eligible loans with a refinance incentive as of March 31, 2018.