Mortgage originations jump 27% as buyers team up

Mortgage loan originations rebounded in the second quarter of 2017, rising 27% from a three-year low in the first three months of the year

Mortgage originations jump 27% as buyers team up
Mortgage loan originations rebounded in the second quarter of 2017, rising 27% from a three-year low in the first three months of the year.

However, the total of 2,033,296 loans was still down 12% from the second quarter of 2016 according to ATTOM Data Solutions.

Almost a quarter (22.8%) of all purchase loan originations on single family homes in the second quarter of this year involved co-borrowers - up from 21.3% in the previous quarter.

"Homebuyers are increasingly relying on co-borrowers to help with home purchases, particularly in high-priced markets where sizable down payments are necessary to compete," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions.
"This rising trend in co-borrowing is helping to eke out increases in purchase loan originations despite affordability and supply constraints."

Unsurprisingly, the highest share of co-borrowers is in some of the most expensive markets: San Jose (50.9%), Miami (45.2%), Seattle (39.1%) and Los Angeles (31.1%).

The nationwide median down payment for single family homes and condos was $18,850. That's 7.3% of the median price of homes purchased, the highest level in almost 3 years.

The report shows that the total dollar volume of loan originations was nearly $509 billion, up 31% from Q1 2017.

Purchase loan originations reached a 10-year high of $257 billion, up 67% from the previous quarter and 7% higher than the second quarter of 2016.

Refinance originations totaled $188 billion, up 1% quarter-over-quarter but down 32% from a year earlier.