Just one month after sinking to the lowest level on recent record, the number of government-sponsored enterprise loans that were refinanced fell further. An Obama-era program enabled 3.5 million refinances during stressful times.
Primary originators of single-family loans refinanced
81,982 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages during July, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported.
Historical data going back to 2011 from FHFA, which is both the regulator and conservator of Fannie and Freddie, indicate that
it was the lowest month on record.
GSE refinances totaled 90,856 one month previous and 109,199 one year previous.
Refinances of Washington-based Fannie’s loans accounted for
52,177 of the latest activity, and refinances of McLean, Virginia-based Freddie’s mortgages made up 29,805 units
Refinances through the Home Affordable Refinance Program fell to 696 — the fewest since
the program went live in April 2009. HARP production was 879 during June and 2,305 in July 2017.
HARP was put in place by the Obama administration through the Making Home Affordable initiative. As the programs nears its expiration, it has generated 3,491,836 refinances during a period of housing stress — including more than a million refinances with loan-to-value ratios in excess of 105 percent.
Nearly 3 million of life-to-date HARP refinances were for loans secured by a primary residence. Almost 464,000 were for investment properties, and just about 111,000 were second homes.
