Black Knight

More than half of the third quarter refinance activity was the cash-out variety, with borrowers removing the most total equity from their homes in nearly 12 years, according to Black Knight.

Mortgage prepayment levels were at their highest in over six years during October, as existing homeowners took advantage of the lower rates to refinance, or to a lesser extent, purchase a new residence, Black Knight said.

Black Knight and PennyMac Financial Services are suing each other in separate disputes linked respectively to the latter's creation of a servicing platform and the former's dominant position in the market.

Early payment mortgage defaults went to the highest level in nearly a decade, particularly among loans included in Ginnie Mae securities, a Black Knight report said.

While home affordability reached a 32-month high in September, it could continue to increase in the fall months, according to Black Knight's Mortgage Monitor.

Foreclosure starts dropped to their lowest level in 18 years, and properties foreclosed on but not yet sold fell to a 14-year low in August, according to Black Knight.

The number of mortgage holders with refinancing potential dropped by 1.5 million as the average long-term rate for home loans continued to rise, according to Black Knight.

A mere 7-basis-point increase in interest rates reduced what was a record-high number of borrowers with refinancing incentive by 2 million in a matter of days, according to Black Knight.

With more rate-and-term refinancing in the mix, home lenders did a better job of retaining borrowers in the second quarter, but there's still room for improvement.

There's a silver lining to the recent economic turbulence: Mortgage rates have tumbled in recent weeks, triggering a rush to refinance and a race to the closing table for many Twin Citians.