Juiced by seasonal momentum and marginal rate improvements, mortgage originations increased 19.4% from the first to second quarter of 2025 — a bounce if not a boom for a beleaguered U.S. housing market.
Total loan originations rose to nearly 1.76 million in the second quarter, with total mortgage activity increasing in 201 of 212 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed, according to the ATTOM Q2 Residential Loan Origination Report, released Thursday.
The rise in originations reflects a 6.3% uptick from the second quarter of 2024, but seasonal gains should not be construed for a broader housing recovery warned Rob Barber, chief executive of the property data and real estate analytics firm.
“This was a typical spring bounce, not yet a breakout,” Barber noted in a press release, adding that “underlying affordability and economic uncertainty continue to hold the market in check.”
Among metro areas with populations of at least one million, the largest quarterly gains in total mortgage activity occurred in Indianapolis, Ind. (+70.8%), San Jose, Calif. (+47.3%), Rochester, N.Y. (+43.8%), Boston, Mass. (+38%) and Buffalo, N.Y. (+35.2%).
By dollar volume, the $601.7 billion of originations in the second quarter reflect a 22.8% quarterly increase and 10.3% increase year over year. Refinance, purchase and home equity line of credit (HELOC) activity all improved.
The second quarter proved particularly strong for refinance originations, rising 16.4% quarterly and 23.8% from the second quarter of 2024 to reach 689,217 refinance loans and $232.8 billion in dollar volume.
Many of the largest quarterly gains in refinance originations among metro areas with populations of at least one million were concentrated in the Northeast, with volumes in Boston, Mass. (+91.6%), Rochester, N.Y. (+61.6%), Providence, R.I. (+52.6%) and Hartford, Conn. (+39.3%) all rising sharply.
Though quarterly growth in purchase activity was widespread, with 97% of metro areas analyzed by ATTOM improving seasonally, purchase originations declined 5% from 2024’s spring homebuying season to roughly 758,000 units.
Major metro areas experienced the largest quarterly rise in purchase activity, with Wasington, D.C. (+35.4%), Chicago, Ill. (+28.1%), Los Angeles, Calif. (+23.4%) and Houston, Texas (+17.6%) all showing notable increases.
Purchase activity in the country’s largest metro area, New York, N.Y., fell 4.7% quarterly.
Home equity originations increased on a quarterly and year over year basis, jumping 16.2% from the first quarter and 4.7% annually to 307,046 units.
The dollar volume of HELOCs rose to $59.9 billion in the second quarter, though HELOC share of all second-quarter mortgage activity dipped slightly to 17.5%. The largest quarterly growth in HELOC activity occurred in Buffalo, N.Y. (+60.9%), Minneapolis, Minn. (+42.2%), Tulsa, Okla. (+39.9%); San Jose, Calif. (+39.6%) and Grand Rapids, Mich. (+38.8%).
Marking a quarterly and year over year rise, the share of mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration rose to 14.3% of all loan activity in the second quarter.
The share of loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rose slightly from the first quarter to 5.7% of all mortgage activity, while construction loan share fell to 1.5%.
