In the fourth quarter, 84% of the homeowners who refinanced their homes got a mortgage at least 5% larger than the original loan, down from 87% in the previous quarter, according to Freddie Mac.However, the percentage was higher than the 81% level recorded a year earlier, the government-sponsored enterprise said in its quarterly refinance review. "Falling mortgage rates encouraged some people to refinance to lower their payments -- for example, if they had an adjustable-rate mortgage that was scheduled to reset soon," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "But the primary driver of refinance continues to be equity extraction." Freddie Mac can be found on the Web at http://www.freddiemac.com.
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