A total of 1.76 million mortgages secured by residential property (one to four units) were issued in the second quarter, a 19.4% surge from the prior quarter and a 6.3% increase from the same period last year.
According to data from ATTOM, the second quarter’s $601.7 billion in total dollar volume was a 22.8% spike from the first quarter and a 10.3% rise the second quarter of 2024. Total mortgage activity increased quarterly in 201 of the 212 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed by ATTOM.
A total of 689,217 refinance loans were issued in the second quarter, up 16.4% from the prior quarter and up 23.8% from one year before. Refinance dollar volume rose 18.5% quarterly to $232.8 billion while the share of refinance loans dipped slightly to 39.3% of all originations, down from 40.3% in the prior quarter.
Home equity lending in the second quarter totaled 307,046 originations, a 16.2% quarter-over-quarter upswing and a 4.7% year-over-year rise. The dollar volume of HELOCs also increased to $59.9 billion, but their share of all loans fell slightly to 17.5%.
“Mortgage activity perked up a bit in the second quarter, but it’s not a clear signal that the market has turned a corner,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “The increase in purchase and refinance activity reflects some buyer and homeowner response to marginal rate improvements, but underlying affordability and economic uncertainty continue to hold the market in check. This was a typical spring bounce, not yet a breakout.”
