A total of 1.62 million residential mortgages were issued during the second quarter, according to new data from ATTOM. This represents a 23.2% increase from the first quarter but a 1.6% drop from the second quarter of 2023.
Purchase loan activity was up by 32.7% quarterly to about 783,000 while refinance deals rose by 10.3% to about 546,000 and home-equity credit lines increased by 26.5%, to about 286,000. In a monetary measurement, lenders issued nearly $533 billion worth of residential mortgages in the second quarter, up by 27.6% from the first quarter and up by 1.1% from the second quarter of last year.
The share of mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) decreased in the second quarter after 10 straight quarterly increases, accounting for 223,919, or 13.9%, of all residential property loans originated in the second quarter. Residential loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) totaled 81,864, or 5.1%, down slightly from the previous quarter and one year earlier.
“The mortgage industry got one of its biggest boosts in years during the second quarter, supported by a combination of the usual Springtime home-buyer demand coupled with more attractive mortgage rates,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “However, a cautionary note is warranted, as we shouldn’t read too much into one great quarter. A similar trend occurred last Spring, with lending dropping off significantly later in the year. But with interest rates settling down and projections for more cuts from the Federal Reserve over the coming months, it wouldn’t be surprising if business increased even more for lenders over the rest of 2024, or at least didn’t drop significantly.”
;
