Despite loan originations falling year-over-year, dollar volume is up thanks to a surge in home equity lines of credit, according to RealtyTrac.
Altogether, 1.4 million loans were originated on residential properties in the U.S. during the first quarter, which represents an 8% decrease from last year, RealtyTrac reported Thursday in its 1Q 2016 Residential Property Loan Origination Report.
Leading the overall slump was a 20% drop year-over-year in refinance originations. Compared with 2015, purchase originations lifted 3% and HELOC originations jumped 10%.
"After a surprisingly strong 2015, the mortgage refi market started running out of steam in the first quarter of 2016 despite lower mortgage interest rates," Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, said in a news release.
The biggest increase in HELOC originations for any metropolitan area across the country occurred in Dallas, where originations rose 35% from a year ago. Baltimore led the country in purchase origination growth, with a 26% increase, and Cincinnati posted the biggest decrease in refinances with a 35% year-over-year drop.
While overall volume declined, loan origination dollar volume increased. In total, $444.6 billion in loans were originated during the first quarter, 5% higher than in 2015. Much of that increase stemmed from a higher dollar amount in HELOCs originated, which grew 45% to $95.3 billion. Purchase dollar volume also increased 8% year-over-year to $145.7 billion, while refinance dollar volume dropped 9% during that time to $203.6 billion.
