The monthly number of government-sponsored enterprise mortgages refinanced by loan originators reached the highest level in almost a year-and-a-half.
For all of August 2016, there were 206,091 residential loans that are either backed or owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which were refinanced.
The last time that the volume of GSE mortgage refinances have ascended to such a level was in April 2015, when there were 225,270 loans refinanced.
In July 2016, there were 170,323 GSE refinances, while the total was 154,056 in August 2015.
Refinances of Washington-based Fannie’s loans totaled 118,354 during the most recent month, up 17 percent from a month earlier and a third higher than a year earlier.
Freddie’s refinance volume jumped 27 percent from July to 87,737. Refinances of the McLean, Virginia-based firm’s loans were 35 percent more than August 2015.
GSE mortgages refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program made up 5,272 of August 2016’s total. HARP volume inched up from the prior month’s 5,121 refinances but sank from 7,497 a year prior.
