Over 20% of HARP refinancings Fannie Mae acquired last year had LTVs greater than 125% and the GSE expects more high LTV loans will be refinanced this year.
“In particular, we expect to acquire many refinancings with LTV ratios greater than 125%,” the company said, because many of those eligible borrowers were not able to refinance during the first half of 2012. That’s because certain changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program “were not fully implemented in the second quarter of 2012,” Fannie says in its annual financial report released Tuesday.
Fannie acquired nearly 640,500
In dollar terms, Fannie purchased $120 billion in HARP refinances from lenders and servicers in 2012, more than double its HARP volume in the prior year. The weighted average FICO of those HARP borrowers is 738.
HARP loans constituted 16% of Fannie acquisitions in the fourth quarter and loans with LTVs greater than 100% constituted 8% of all of Fannie’s loan acquisitions in 2012, which totaled $832 billion.
“The average original LTV ratio of single-family loans we acquired in 2012, excluding HARP loans, was 68%, compared to 111% for HARP loans,” Fannie said in its 10-K securities filing.
The GSE notes that HARP is slated to end in December 2013, “although we will continue to accept deliveries of HARP loans through Sept. 30, 2014 for the loans with application dates on or before December 2013.”
