Refinancing Found in 77% of Residential Fundings

Refinancings of existing mortgages accounted for 77% of all loans funded in the first quarter, the highest reading since National Mortgage News began tracking such figures in the late 1990s. The last time the refi rate was close to being this high came in the first quarter of 2003 with refis accounting for 76.7% of all fundings. (In that year mortgage bankers funded a record $3.9 trillion in home loans.) Last month mortgage rates began to tick up as the yield on the 10-year Treasury began to increase. However over the past week the 10-year has come down and at press time was yielding 3.5%. According to the Quarterly Data Report, a National Mortgage News publication, all home lenders funded $462 billion in 1Q: $355 billion in refis and just $107 billion in "purchase money" loans.