The number of government-sponsored enterprise mortgages refinanced climbed to the highest level in nine months. Government-backed refinances, though, continued to fade.
Data reported Tuesday by the
Federal Housing Finance Agency indicate that 147,699 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans were refinanced during November 2017.
That worked out to the highest volume of monthly refinances since February 2017, when 157,921 GSE single-family loans were refinanced by primary originators.
GSE refinances accelerated compared to the preceding month, when primary originators
refinanced 142,687 mortgages backed or owned by the pair of secondary lenders.
But refinance production plunged from the same month during 2016, when 255,329 GSE mortgages were refinanced.
The latest month’s activity consisted of 85,174 Fannie Mae refinances and 62,525 Freddie Mac refinances.
FHFA reported 2,123 loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program during November 2017 — the fewest on record since the program went live in April 2009.
Life-to-date HARP production worked out to 3,482,023 transactions.
