July 11, 2019
Refinances Rose to 35 Percent of All Loans in January
When loan rates fall, as they did in January and as they have done in minor measure since, it is common to see people acting quickly to lock in a good refinance rate on their existing home loans. And, according to Ellie Mae’s Millennial Tracker report released in March, this is precisely what we have been seeing this go-around. This report places emphasis on applications for mortgages that are made by the Millennial age-set, and in this case it pointed out that these borrowers refinanced in spades during the first part of the year, achieving a rate of 13 percent of all loans closed in January 2019. This is the highest rate at which this group of homeowners has refinanced since all the way back in February of 2018.
This corresponds with Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight Report of the same vintage, which revealed that refinances overall (by which we mean among all combined age-groups or generational classifications) rose to comprise a full 35 percent of all loans closed in January.
The report further broke-down the loan numbers by loan-type category, and found that refinances were higher during January in each sort. For conventional loans, the rate grew by three percent from December 2018 (when they made up 11 percent of loans) to 14 percent in January. VA loans were refinanced at a rate of 35 percent in January, while they had been refinanced at a rate of only 27 percent back in December 2018. And FHA loans went up from a mere six percent in December 2018 to seven percent in January.
The “average” primary borrower who chose to refinance a loan during this period was around 33 years of age, had a FICO score of 728, and tended to be male. Among all of those who refinanced their loans, 66 percent were married, while 33 percent were single.
When a performing a refinance, it makes sense to ensure that title is being conveyed properly. Our team here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. does everything we can to be absolutely sure our clients are conveying and purchasing title clear of judgments and defects. And, yes, we help our clients put into place a good policy of title insurance to make certain they don’t get surprised by any nasty lurking issues with a property. Contact us if you’d like us to do this for you.
