HARP Accounts for Four Percent of Q2 Refinances

Borrowers completed 18,310 refinances through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), during the second quarter, according to data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). HARP volume represented four percent of total refinance activity during the second quarter.

FHFA also reported that borrowers with loan-to-value ratios greater than 105 percent accounted for 22 percent of the volume of HARP loans during the first half of this year, while 26 percent of HARP refinances for underwater borrowers were for shorter-term 15-and 20-year mortgages.   Among the states, HARP refinances represented nine percent or more of the total refinances in Florida and Georgia, more than double the national average.

Furthermore, FHFA found that borrowers who refinanced through HARP had a lower delinquency rate compared to borrowers eligible for HARP who did not refinance through the program. Since its inception, HARP has seen more than 3.4 million refinances.