After plunging to the weakest level in at least seven years, government-sponsored enterprise refinance volume bounced up to the second-slowest month during the period. HARP production fell to a new low.
In August, there were 90,506 single-family loans backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. that were refinanced by primary mortgage originators.
GSE refinance activity increased from 81,982 one month previous, when the pair of secondary mortgage lenders saw the fewest refinances since at least 2011.
But refinances have plummeted from the same month last year, when production came to 124,997.
The secondary mortgage lenders’ regulator and conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, provided the statistics in its Refinance Report August 2018.
Most recently, 58,237 of the refinances were for loans backed by Washington-based Fannie Mae, more than 52,177 in July.
Refinances of McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac mortgages rose to 32,269 from 29,805.
Just 651 loans were refinance through the Home Affordable Refinance Program during August, the slowest month on record.
Refinances through HARP since it launched in April 2009 amount to 3,492,487 transactions. The program expires at the end of this year.
