Purchase, HELOC originations also lower
Originations for residential refinance mortgages hit their lowest level since at least the start of this century in the third quarter.
ATTOM Data Solutions says that there were 681,455 refinance originations for mortgages secured on residential properties (1-4 units) in Q3, down 15% from the previous quarter and down 21% from Q3 2017.
Total dollar volume of $175.1 billion was down 14% quarter-over-quarter and 21% year-over-year; it was the lowest in 4.5 years.
"Rising mortgage rates continued to dampen demand for mortgages in the third quarter, particularly refinance mortgages," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions. "There were some notable exceptions to that trend, primarily in markets affected by the hurricanes in the third quarter of 2017."
The decline in refinance originations was seen in 88% of the metro areas analyzed.
There was also a decline in purchase mortgage originations; down 5% from Q2 2018 and down 2% from Q3 2017 to 892,760. These originations declined in 54% of the metros analyzed.
A total of 313,744 HELOCs were originated on residential properties in Q3 2018, down 14% from the previous quarter and down 11% from a year ago. They fell in 64% of the metros analyzed.
Median down payment up 16%
The median down payment on single family homes and condos purchased with financing in Q3 2018 was $20,250, up 7% from the previous quarter and up 16% year-over-year to a record high as far back as data is available, Q1 2000.
The median down payment as a percentage of the median home sales price in Q3 2018 was 7.6%, up from 7.2%in the previous quarter and up from 6.8% in Q3 2017 to the highest since Q4 2003 — a nearly 15-year high.
