Mortgage refinance transactions moved lower for the seventh month in a row. Fannie Mae refinances led the most recent decline.
November saw 163,547 loans that are either owned or guaranteed by Fannie and its secondary cousin Freddie Mac refinanced.
The volume level slid from a month earlier, when 191,639 government-sponsored enterprise-owned or -guaranteed mortgages were refinanced.
According to historical data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which provided the report, Conventional agency refinance originations have declined each month since April 2013, when volume was 463,586 transactions.
Fannie and Freddie refinances have evaporated compared to the 573,151 conventional agency loans refinanced in November 2012. The total was revised down from 573,153 originally reported.
Refinance volume at Washington, D.C.-based Fannie fell from 128,894 during October to 105,307. Fannie’s refinances were down by more than two-thirds compared to November 2012, when 349.378 were processed.
Freddie’s refinances dropped to 58,240 in November from 62,745. Refinancing of the McLean, Va.-based company’s loans was down by nearly three-quarters from 223,773 a year earlier.
Total refinances originated through the Home Affordable Refinance Program came in at 38,732 in November — including 23,581 for Fannie and 15,151 for Freddie.
HARP production slumped from 46,387 a month earlier and 129,749 a year earlier.
The latest activity pushed lifetime HARP production to 3,027,937 transactions since the program began in April 2009.
Of all HARPs ever completed, 2.6 million were secured by primary residences, 0.1 million were on second homes and 0.4 million were loans backed by investment properties.