Refinance activity sank during the final month of 2012, and the decline was even more steep for transactions processed through the Making Home Affordable program.
December saw 359,205 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages refinanced, far fewer than the 573,153 home loans that were refinanced in November.
The latest activity included 248,360 refinances of Fannie loans and 110,845 Freddie refinances.
The findings, reported by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, indicated that refinances numbered 376,355 between the two government-sponsored housing enterprises during the same month in 2011.
For all of last year, 4,750,542 refinances were completed, including 3,090,475 Fannie loans and 1,660,067 Freddie loans. Combined refinance volume grew from 3,229,066 in 2011.
Mortgages refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program accounted for 76,461 of December’s total, tumbling from 129,746 HARP transactions the prior month but soaring from 26,446 refinances in December 2011.
With 11,214 HARP refinances in December, California accounted for more HARP activity than any other state. Close behind was Florida with 10,363, then 5,173 in Michigan, 5,058 in Arizona and 4,400 in Georgia.
The most recent month included 40,566 HARP refinances with loan-to-value ratios of no more than 105 percent, 17,139 with LTV ratios between 105 percent and 125 percent and 18,756 with LTV ratios that exceeded 125 percent.
Full-year 2012 HARP activity amounted to 1,074,755, more than doubling the 438,228 refinances procured through the program in 2011.
FHFA said that since the program was launched in April 2009, there have been 2,165,021 HARP refinances. Refinances of primary residences accounted for 1,895,827 of the total, while 69,522 second homes were refinanced through HARP and 199,672 investment properties have been refinanced.
