Roughly 43% of borrowers with 30-year loans who refinanced into a new product during the fourth quarter chose shorter maturities, the highest reading since 2003.
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According to figures released by Freddie Mac, the product of choice was either a 15- or a 20-year loan.
And not surprisingly, consumers continue to choose fixed-rate loans over ARMs by a huge margin: in 4Q FRMs accounted for more than 95% of refinanced loans.
According to National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report, residential lenders originated roughly $370 billion of loans in 4Q, the industry’s best year of the quarter.
Production has remained strong in 1Q, but not quite as robust as the prior period. Then again, six weeks remain in the quarter.
