Despite a dip in the fourth quarter, the number of mortgage loans originated in the U.S. last year climbed to its highest total since 2013, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM’s 2016 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report found that 1.7 million loans were originated on residential properties in the fourth quarter of 2016. That represents a 15 percent decrease from the previous quarter but a 2 percent increase year-over-year.
For the entire year, 7.3 million loans originated in 2016, 2 percent more than in 2015, ATTOM reported.
“Refinance originations continued to post strong numbers compared to a year ago in the fourth quarter, even as purchase originations decreased on a year-over-year basis for the second consecutive quarter,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a press release.
“The increase in refinance originations is surprising given the rising interest rates in the fourth quarter, but many homeowners may have been trying to lock in still relatively low interest rates before those interest rates rose further,” Blomquist said.
According to the report, the areas with the largest year-over-year percentage increases in mortgage originations were Olympia, Wash. (27 percent); Memphis, Tenn. (18 percent); Bremerton, Wash. (18 percent); Spokane, Wash. (18 percent); and Kansas City, Mo. (17 percent).
Areas with largest year-over-year percentage decreases in mortgage originations were Naples, Fla. (23 percent); Austin, Texas (20 percent); Fort Collins, Colo. (19 percent); San Antonio (18 percent); and Reno, Nev. 15 percent).
The report listed Quicken Loans, Caliber Home Loans, Wells Fargo, Fairway and JP Morgan Chase as the top purchase loan originators during the fourth quarter.
For 2016, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) increased 2 percent from 2015 to 1,189,867, the report said. HELOCS had their biggest year-over-year increases in Flint, Mich. (26 percent); Salt Lake City, Utah (26 percent); Birmingham, Ala. (24 percent); Anchorage, Alaska (22 percent); and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (20 percent).