Despite monthly slowing in refinances of government-sponsored enterprise mortgages, government-subsidized refinance activity accelerated.
Primary originators of residential loans refinanced 132,269 mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the entire month of January.
GSE refinances slowed compared to the final month of last year, when a downwardly revised 136,617 Fannie and Freddie loans were refinanced.
The statistics were reported by the two companies’ regulator and conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The decline was more substantial versus the first month of last year, when refinances numbered 152,410.
GSE refinance activity dropped even though average 30-year fixed rates on mortgages dipped below 3.9 percent in January, according to Freddie Mac.
But
rates fell as low as 3.62 percent in February, indicating that GSE refinances in February and March might come in higher.
The latest month included 77,436 Fannie mortgages that were refinanced, slightly more than the 77,334 in December 2015.
But refinances of Freddie loans fell to 54,833 in January from 59,283.
Total January 2016 GSE refinances included 6,239 home loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program.
HARP volume increased from 5,874 a month earlier but fell from 10,592 a year earlier.
Through Jan. 31, 2016, there have been 3,386,793 HARP refinances since the program went live in April 2009.
