Loan originations in U.S. jump 40% during 4Q 2019

A new report says 1.27 million mortgage refinances were secured in the U.S. during the final three months of 2019 — a 20% increase from the same quarter of 2018 and a 104% annual increase.

California-based Attom Data Solutions, which tracks national housing and foreclosure data, completed the analysis for the report.

The number of refinances secured during the fourth quarter of 2019 is at its highest point since the third quarter of 2013.

Refinances secured during the fourth quarter last year, according to the report, represented an estimated $391.3 billion in total dollar volume. That’s up 19% from the prior quarter and 138% from the fourth quarter of 2018.

The total number of loan originations rose 40% annually during the fourth quarter of 2019 to 2.27 million, which is the highest point since the third quarter of 2016.

“The fourth quarter was a banner period for residential mortgages across the United States, as declining interest rates and a strong economy helped spur more than 2 million borrowers to sign on for new or refinanced loans,” Todd Teta, Attom’s chief product officer, said in a statement. “Refinancing largely drove the trend, with more than twice as many homeowners trading in higher-interest mortgages for cheaper ones than in the same period of 2018.”

The total number of loan originations in Northwest Arkansas rose 22% annually during the fourth quarter of 2019 to 4,424, which is the highest point since the second quarter of 2018.

The Fort Smith metro was up 26% year-over-year, from 1,123 in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 1,411 in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The central Arkansas metro totaled 4,890 total loan originations in the fourth quarter last year, a 16% jump from the fourth quarter of 2018.