Residential home lending saw its first gain in a year during Q2 2024, with the issuance of 1.62 million mortgages secured by residential property. This represents a 23.2% increase over the first quarter.
This reporting, provided by ATTOM Data Solutions, found that lenders’ issued mortgages this quarter came out to $533 billion, 27.6% higher than in Q1. The results are, per ATTOM, the result of a strong spring buying season and a continued decline in mortgage rates.
However, these results were also found to be slightly lower than Q2 2023 (a 1.6% drop, precisely) and substantially lower than the most recent “high point” in 2021 (-61.2% lower). ATTOM CEO Rob Barber noted in a release that these positive results should not be the only tea leaves one judges the market by:
“The mortgage industry got one of its biggest boosts in years during the second quarter, supported by a combination of the usual Springtime home-buyer demand coupled with more attractive mortgage rates. However, a cautionary note is warranted, as we shouldn’t read too much into one great quarter. A similar trend occurred last Spring, with lending dropping off significantly later in the year. But with interest rates settling down and projections for more cuts from the Federal Reserve over the coming months, it wouldn’t be surprising if business increased even more for lenders over the rest of 2024, or at least didn’t drop significantly.”
The Federal Reserve holds its next meeting on September 17, 2024 and is widely expected to cut interest rates based on both economists’ projections and comments from Chair Jerome Powell.
Lending breakdown
Across different loan types, purchase mortgages remain the largest type and jumped 32.7% quarterly. Refinance deals rose by 10.3%, while home-equity credit lines shot up 26.5%.
Regionally, the biggest gains in lending came in these metropolitan areas:
- Boulder, Colorado (106.5%)
- Honolulu, Hawaii (100.2%)
- Appleton, Wisconsin (63.1%)
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota (56.8%)
- Champaign, Illinois (54.7%)
Among metro areas with more than 1 million residents, the largest lending gains were in:
- San Jose, California (46%)
- Minneapolis (44.3%
- Indianapolis (42.3%)
- Boston (35.4%)
The largest quarterly declines in lending took place in these metro areas:
- Pensacola, Florida (-19.8%)
- Buffalo, New York (-16.1%)
- Atlantic City (-2.4%)
- Springfield, Illinois (-1.7%)
For the full ATTOM report, click here.
