Data from Black Knight Inc.’s latest Originations Market Monitor report show that overall rate locks were up 3.9% in June from May, with a 6% rise in purchase locks and a 10% jump in cash-out refinance locks.
The purchase lock rise also comes after two consecutive months of declines, with May’s drop primarily due to the foreshortened month, the company says. While the volume of purchase loan locks per day was down slightly from May, they rose for the month due to the three additional business days in June, putting purchase activity just 5% behind March’s record high.
On the other hand, locks for rate/term refinances were down 4%, causing the refinance share of the market mix to drop again, accounting for just 43% of June’s origination activity.
“After an initial rise following the Fed’s policy meeting in mid-June, Black Knight’s OBMMI daily interest rate tracker shows rate offerings settling in the second half of the month and now sitting roughly equivalent to where they were at the same time in May,” says Black Knight Secondary Marketing Technologies President Scott Happ.
“Following two consecutive months of declines – and during the typical seasonal peak for purchase lending, no less – overall locks climbed in June. Both purchase and cash-out refinances were up, but refis in which the homeowner improves their rate or term continued their downward slide, despite rates returning to levels last seen in early March. Such rate/term refis are now down 30 percent from that point and 60 percent since January,” he adds.
Black Knight notes that the jumbo share of lending has been growing, while there has been a decline in the conforming share: down nearly 750 basis points from last year.