Loans made through the Home Affordable Refinancing Program have fallen for four consecutive quarters and have dropped by 36% since the third quarter of 2012, according to a new report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The third quarter FHFA report shows
Meanwhile, all single-family refinancings by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seller/servicers, including HARPs, totaled 898,100 in the third quarter, down 29% from the second quarter.
This shows that quarter-over-quarter, HARP refis are holding up a little better than regular refinancings.
However, refinancings of the higher loan-to-value GSE loans are seeing larger declines. Refinances of conventional loans with loan-to-value ratios above 125% totaled 33,600 in 3Q, down 36% from the prior quarter.
GSE servicers refinanced nearly 61,300 loans with LTVs greater than 105% and up to 125% in 3Q, down 33% from 2Q.
(HARP refinancings involve Fannie and Freddie loans with loan-to-value ratios greater than 80%. The Home Affordable Refinance Program is designed to help borrowers who are current on their payments but are underwater or face other issues that make it difficult to refinance.)
