A new data report from ATTOM has determined there were 1.35 million mortgages secured by residential properties issued during the fourth quarter of 2023. This represented a 13.8% drop from the third quarter – the tenth decline in the last 11 quarters.
The fourth quarter total was also a 16.5% decline from the same period in 2022.
All major categories of residential lending recorded quarterly declines during the final three months of last year: Purchase-loan activity sank by 18.4% to about 618,000, refinance deals slipped by 7.9% to 488,000 and home equity credit lines fell by 12.7% to 241,000.
In terms of monetary measurements, lenders issued $417.4 billion worth of residential mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2023, down by 14.9% from the third quarter and down by 18.6% from the fourth quarter of 2022.
“Multiple powerful forces continued to conspire against the mortgage industry during the fourth quarter, slicing back huge portions of their business,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “There were signs during the peak buying season of 2022 that things were starting to turn around, with increases in purchase, refinance and HELOC deals. That could happen again this year as we head into this year’s peak period, especially with interest rates coming down recently. But the fourth quarter numbers revealed continued gloomy times for lenders, no matter how you sliced the pie.”
