Third-quarter mortgage originations on one- to four-unit residential properties declined 1.6% over the quarter on a unit basis but were up 1.9% over the year.
The $600.4 billion in third-quarter volume was a 3.1% dip from the second quarter but a 3.1% rise year over year, an update to real estate market analytics firm Attom’s quarterly originations report revealed.
“Taken together, [the third quarter] looks like a market treading water rather than turning a corner,” said Rob Barber, CEO of Attom, in a press release accompanying the findings.
The company reported industry-wide origination totals of 1,773,487 for the third quarter, with declining purchase share outperformed by vigorous showing from refinance and home equity line of credit (HELOC) volumes.
Third-quarter purchase originations fell 4.8% from the second quarter and gapped 6.6% lower from the third quarter of 2024. Purchase dollar volume shrank more than 5% over the quarter and 3.3% over the year to $309.6 billion, according to Attom.
Purchases made up 43.2% of total originations, down from 44.6% in the second quarter.
Major markets with populations exceeding 1 million with the largest quarterly drops in purchase originations were Austin, Texas (35.6%), Atlanta (25.8%), San Antonio (19.5%), Washington, D.C. (15.8%) and Dallas (15.7%).
The strongest quarterly purchase growth was observed in the western New York cities of Buffalo and Rochester, as well as Cleveland, Philadelphia and New York City.
Attom reported that refinances made up 38.8% of all loans and 38.3% of overall dollar volume, “both slightly higher than in the previous quarter.”
Total refinance originations were up 12% year over year in the third quarter, though they fell 0.2% from the second quarter. Dollar volumes of refinance originations were down 1.2% over the quarter but rose 12.6% over the year.
HELOC originations, meanwhile, continued their sustained trend upward, rising to 18% of all originations and 10.2% of total dollar volume in the third quarter, up from 17.2% and 9.8% in the previous quarter.
Overall HELOC lending was up 2.8% from the second quarter and 4.6% over the year.
“The modest lift in refinance and HELOC activity suggests some homeowners are taking advantage of small rate improvements and tapping equity,” said Barber, “while purchase activity remains constrained by affordability.”
