Property data curator ATTOM released its first-quarter 2025 Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, which showed that 1.4 million mortgages were secured by residential property (one to four units) during the first quarter of the year. That was a 14 percent decrease from the previous quarter, as the number of new loans continues to trend downward.
After hitting a recent peak of nearly 4.2 million loans a quarter in early 2021, the number of new home financing deals has declined to below pre-pandemic levels, according to ATTOM. The latest dip was driven by a 20 percent drop in home purchase loans, which slipped from 738,675 in the fourth quarter to 593,111 in the first quarter.
The number of residential properties refinancing fell by 12 percent quarter-over-quarter, to 580,170, while home equity credit lines dipped 5 percent, to 260,267.
The total dollar value of loans fell 18 percent, from $582 billion in the fourth quarter to $478 billion in the first quarter, marking not only a decline in borrowers but also a decrease in the average loan amount. This is due in part to the shifting makeup of the loan market, according to ATTOM’s report.
Home purchase loans, which as recently as fall 2023 accounted for more than half of all mortgages, now comprise 41.4 percent of the market, a 2.8 percentage point drop from the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the proportion of mortgage refinancing and home equity line of credit (HELOC) deals, which tend to be smaller, have grown to 40.5 percent and 18.2 percent of the market, respectively.
“The red-hot housing market we’ve seen over the last few years meant that most home loans were going toward new purchases, but that appears to be changing,” ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in a release. “Rather than borrowing money to buy a new property, the data shows homeowners are increasingly looking to restructure their existing mortgages or borrow equity from their homes to cover other expenses. … If the current trend continues, mortgage refinancing deals will soon make up the biggest share of the home loan market.”
Metro areas see decline in new loans
The slowdown in the mortgage market was felt across the country, with only a handful of large metro areas seeing lending growth. The number of issued mortgages fell quarterly in 93 percent (180) of the 193 metropolitan statistical areas in ATTOM’s analysis that had populations of 200,000 or more and at least 1,000 residential mortgages issued during the first quarter.
Despite the recent dip, much of the country still saw more loans compared to the same time last year. The total number of mortgages increased year-over-year in 73.6 74 percent (142) of the 193 metro areas.
The largest quarterly decreases were in Duluth, Minn. (down 35.6 percent); Fort Wayne, Ind. (down 34.6 percent); Greeley, Colo. (down 34.1 percent); St. Louis (down 31.8 percent); and Anchorage, Ala. (down 31.5 percent).
The metro areas with the largest quarter-over-quarter growth in loans were Asheville, N.C. (up 24.1 percent); Cape Coral, Fla. (up 23.1 percent); North Port-Sarasota, Fla. (up 21.7 percent); Brownsville, Texas (up 21.2 percent); and Tampa, Fla. (up 17.8 percent).
Loans for home purchases fell steeply
Nationwide, the number of mortgages issued for home purchases was down 19.7 percent quarter-over-quarter and the value of those loans dropped 20.1 percent from $293 billion to $234 billion. That was less than half of the recent peak of 1.6 million purchase loans valued at $540 billion in mid-2021.
Mortgages for home purchases fell quarterly in 95 percent (183) of the 193 metro areas in ATTOM’s analysis of the first quarter.
The metro areas with the biggest quarter-over-quarter declines in loans for purchases were Greeley, Colo. (down 68 percent); Anchorage, Ala. (down 67.3 percent); Fort Wayne, Ind. (down 54.7 percent); Duluth, Minn. (down 46.8 percent); and Lubbock, Texas (down 44.9 percent).
The metro areas with the greatest growth compared to last quarter were Yuma, Ariz. (up 35.5 percent); Cape Coral, Fla. (up 28.5 percent); Asheville, N.C. (up 10.9 percent); North Port-Sarasota, Fla. (up 6.4 percent); and Colorado Springs, Colo. (up 6 percent).
Among metro areas with populations over 1 million, the biggest quarterly declines in loans for home purchases were in Austin, Texas (down 38.5 percent); St. Louis (down 37.8 percent); Rochester, N.Y. (down 36.6 percent); Houston (down 35.7 percent); and Indianapolis, Ind. (down 33.5 percent).
Of those biggest metro areas, only two saw quarterly increases in their number of home purchase loans. Tampa, Fla., had a 4 percent increase and Tucson, Ariz., had a 3.9 percent increase.
Refi down quarterly, but growing in market share
The number of mortgage refinancing loans was down 12.2 percent from 661,067 in the fourth quarter to 580,170 in the first quarter. Year-over-year, however, the number of refinancing loans was up 16.1 percent.
The number of refinanced mortgages fell quarter-over-quarter in 82.9 percent (160) of the 193 metro areas in ATTOM’s analysis.
The metro areas with the biggest quarterly declines in refinancings were San Jose, Calif. (down 41.6 percent); Reno, Nev. (down 38 percent); Bend, Ore. (down 35.1 percent); San Francisco (down 34.2 percent); and Huntsville, Ala. (down 33.8 percent).
The metro areas with the largest increase in refinancings compared to the fourth quarter were Lubbock, Texas (70.4 percent); North Port-Sarasota, Fla. (up 52.6 percent); McAllen, Texas (up 49 percent); Brownsville, Texas (up 48.3 percent); and Asheville, N.C. (up 46.7 percent).
Besides San Jose and San Francisco, the metro areas with populations of more than 1 million that saw the biggest quarterly decline in refinancing packages were St. Louis (down 29.9 percent); Raleigh, N.C. (down 24.6 percent); and Boston, Mass. (down 23.7 percent).
Of those largest metro areas, only three saw their number of mortgage refinancings increase from the fourth to the first quarter: Tampa (up 39.8 percent); Miami (up 5 percent); and Orlando (up 1.6 percent).
HELOC lending also fell quarterly in much of the country
HELOCs saw the smallest decrease nationwide. They were down 4.5 percent from 272,535 in the fourth quarter to 260,267 in the first quarter. That was 13.9 percent more, though, than during the first quarter of 2024.
The number of HELOCs fell quarter-over-quarter in 61 percent (119) of the 193 metro areas in ATTOM’s analysis.
The metro areas with the largest quarterly declines in HELOCs were Peoria, Ill. (down 32.8 percent); Yuma, Ariz. (down 25.7 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (down 25.7 percent); Fort Wayne, Ind. (down 24.7 percent); and Scranton, PA (down 23.6 percent).
The metro areas with the largest quarterly increases in HELOCs were Beaumont, Texas (up 67.9 percent); Salisbury, Md. (up 59.4 percent); New Orleans, La. (up 41.3 percent); Brownsville, Texas (up 36.6 percent); and Killeen, Texas (up 31.8 percent).
Among metro areas with populations of more than 1 million, the largest quarterly declines in HELOCs were in Houston (down 20.7 percent); St. Louis (down 20.1 percent); Rochester, N.Y. (down 15.4 percent); Columbus, Ohio (down 15.1 percent); and Buffalo, N.Y. (down 15.1 percent).
Of those large metro areas, the greatest quarterly increases in HELOCs were in New Orleans (up 41.3 percent); Hartford, Conn. (up 14.2 percent); Tampa, Fla. (up 10 percent); Jacksonville, Fla. (up 8.8 percent); and Virginia Beach, Va. (up 8 percent).
FHA and VA mortgages down quarterly, up year-over-year
Lenders issued 227,159 loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in the first quarter of 2025. That was down 9 percent from the previous quarter but up 3 percent year-over-year. The share of FHA-backed loans as a percentage of all home loans rose quarter-over-quarter from 14.9 percent to 15.8 percent.
The number of loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dropped to 78,862. That was 27 percent less than the fourth quarter but 8.4 percent higher year-over-year. VA-backed loans accounted for 5.5 percent of all loans in the first quarter of 2025.