Boom in refinanced resi loans drives mortgage origination bump

U.S. homeowners are playing the long game.

Residential loan originations — by count and dollar amount — rose year over year in the second quarter, largely driven by a surge in homeowners opting to refinance their mortgages rather than getting loans for new home purchases.

There were 1.8 million loan originations across the country in the second quarter, up 6 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a report from real estate data provider Attom. The dollar amount totaled about $602 billion, a 10 percent year-over-year increase.

Refinancing deals climbed 24 percent during this time, while purchase loan originations fell by 5 percent. Home equity lines of credit also grew, by 5 percent year over year.

In the second quarter of 2025, refinanced mortgages also beat out purchase loans in terms of total dollar volume growth, totaling $232.8 billion — a growth of 34 percent year over year. The total purchase loan dollar volume ticked down by 2 percent, coming in at roughly $309 billion.

The uptick in mortgage activity in the second quarter likely reflects buyer and owner responses to marginal rate drops, said Attom’s CEO Rob Barber in the report. The market still faces affordability and economic uncertainty, he added.

“This was a typical spring bounce, not yet a breakout,” Barber said.

Buyers had pulled back on filing applications for purchase mortgages this spring as rates headed toward the 7-percent mark.

But by the end of May, the average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate in the U.S. started to drop. In the beginning of July, it was 6.67 percent, the lowest since early April.

While there have been minute improvements in rates here and there, millions of Americans who bought homes over the past few years with rates at or above 6.5 percent have found that conditions still aren’t ideal to refinance their deals.

The annual growth in refinancing originations in the second quarter was higher than it was in the first quarter, but it was lower than the fourth quarter’s growth rate of 31 percent, according to an analysis of Attom’s data. The 5 percent annual drop in purchase loan originations is steeper than the 2 percent yearly change in the first quarter.