Nearly 470,000 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages refinanced in January, with roughly 97,600 completed through the Home Affordable Refinance Program, signaling that volumes remained high through the first month of the year.
Since the program’s launch in 2009, more than 2.2 million loans have successfully refinanced through the government’s program, the Federal Housing Finance Agency concluded in its January HARP report.
Since the program’s inception through January, loans refinanced through HARP accounted for 1.97 million primary residences, 72,396 second homes and 215,580 investment properties.
In January, borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105% accounted for 47% of the HARP refinance volume, according to the report.
The amount of completed HARP refinances for deeply underwater borrowers continued to represent a significant portion of total volume.
For instance, 20% of the loans refinanced through HARP had a LTV greater than 125%, FHFA noted.
Regionally, HARP accounted for a substantial portion of total refinance volumes.
In January, HARP refinances represented 66% of total refinances in Nevada, more than tripling the 21% of total refinances nationwide. Additionally, HARP refinances accounted for 56% of total refinances in Florida in January, the report explained.
In January, 18% of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter-term 15-year mortgagees and 20-year mortgages, which build equity faster than traditional 30-year mortgages, the FHFA concluded.
