The city of Irvine is located in the state of California.The month of November. ATTOM, a leading provider of land, property, and real estate data, released its third quarter 2023 U.S. real estate market report on Wednesday, March 30, 2023. Based on the Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, it can be seen that:.It is estimated that 54 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were issued in the United States during the third quarter of this year, a decrease of 3 percent from the previous three months. There were nine declines in the last 10 quarters - a string that has only been broken by the spike during the second quarter of this year, which was the ninth decline in the last 10 quarters
There were nine declines in the last 10 quarters - a string that has only been broken by the spike during the second quarter of this year, which was the ninth decline in the last 10 quarters
It should be noted that the third-quarter downturn, which coincided with an increase in mortgage rates and home prices, led to a decline of 26 percent in total residential lending activity from a year earlier and a decline of 63 percent from its high point in 2021.
With a mix of gains and losses in major residential lending categories, lending activity resumed its extended downturn during the third quarter. Refinance activity grew, but purchase lending and home equity lending dropped, while refinances grew, but purchase lending and home equity lending dropped. During the quarter, refinanced loans increased by 5 percent, while lending to home buyers declined by 7 percent, to about 752,000. The number of home equity credit lines also declined by 7 percent, to 272,000.
It is estimated that lenders issued $482 billion worth of residential mortgages in the third quarter of 2023, which was a decrease of 4 percent from the second quarter of 2023 and a reduction of 28 percent from the third quarter of last year.
The percentage of residential mortgages made up by different types of loans remained nearly the same during the third quarter as it was in the second quarter despite the changes. There were still about half of all mortgages issued during the third quarter made up of purchase loans, one third of refinance packages, and just under 20 percent made up of home equity loans. There was, however, a significant difference between two years ago, when refinance deals constituted two-thirds of all activity, and purchase loans just a third.
In the third quarter of this year, the mortgage industry took another hit as the spike in residential lending that occurred during the Spring of this year turned out to be temporary, according to Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM Data Solutions, Inc.. It was the refinancing deals that stood out as the lone bright spot during this period. There seems to be a strange correlation between that and the fact that interest rates went up, but it may be due to homeowners taking cash out of their growing equity. Over the past two years, the impact of higher interest rates, along with other forces that are working against borrowers, has resulted in an impressive two-thirds drop in total loan activity.
Over the past two years, the impact of higher interest rates, along with other forces that are working against borrowers, has resulted in an impressive two-thirds drop in total loan activity.
According to Barber, "the typical slowdown in the housing market during the Fall is likely to further reduce purchase lending in the immediate future while loans to homeowners should remain fairly steady over the next couple of years if projections for stable interest rates turn out to be accurate.".
The third-quarter lending trends took shape as Home-mortgage rates increased again over the Summer, pushing up the cost of borrowing after dipping slightly in the first and second quarters of 2023. In the past two years, the average interest rate on 30-year, fixed loans has increased more than twice as high as it was two years ago, when they were historically low. Moreover, an ongoing shortage of properties to buy in the U.S. helped to keep the number of buyers seeking mortgages to purchase homes to stay low.
There was a decrease in total lending activity by nearly two-thirds across the nation in the third quarter of 2023. Banks and other lenders issued 1,539,828 residential mortgages during the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of 3 percent from 1,589,359 in the second quarter. As a result of the fallback, a two-year downward trend was resumed, which was only broken by a 22 percent spike in the second quarter of this year.
There were also a total of 2,077,214 in the third quarter of 2022, down 26 percent from 2,077,214 a year ago, and 63 percent below the high point of 4,167,003 that was reached two years ago.
In the third quarter of 2022, a total of $482.5 billion was lent to homeowners and new home buyers, which is a decrease of 4 percent from $504.3 billion in the prior quarter and a decline of 28 percent from $674.1 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
As of the second quarter of this year, lending activity in 126 metropolitan statistical areas across the country declined by 63 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter of this year. From July through September of 2023, at least 1,000 residential mortgages were issued in each of these cities that had a population of 200,000 or more.
As a result, total lending was down by at least 25 percent from the third quarter of 2022 in 195 metro areas (97%) of the metro areas analyzed. In 98 of these markets, at least 20 percent of the total lending was down from the third quarter of 2022.
A large decline in lending can be found in St. Louis, MO (total lending decreased by 33.7 percent between the second quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2023), Atlanta, GA (down 24 percent), Naples, FL (down 17.6 percent), Salisbury, MD (down 17.4 percent), and Barnstable, MA (down 15 percent).
In addition to the metros of St. Louis and Atlanta, San Jose, CA (down 12.6% on total loans) has seen the largest decrease in total loans between the second quarter of 2023 and the third quarter of 2023. Washington, DC (down 11.5%) and San Francisco, CA (down 10.1%) have also experienced the largest decreases in total loans.
A total of 15.2 percent more loans were issued in Buffalo, NY between the second and third quarters of 2023, which was the largest quarterly increase among metros with a population of at least one million, Grand Rapids MI (up 9.8 percent); Honolulu, HI (up 7.9 percent); New York, NY (up 6.2 percent); and Detroit, MI (up 5.6 percent).
As a result of a two-year slump in residential refinance mortgage originations, lenders issued 516,461 residential refinance mortgages in the third quarter of 2023, which was the second straight quarter of the increase. The number increased by 5 percent from 490,412 in the previous quarter, marking the second consecutive quarterly increase since loan rollovers hit a low point in early 2023.
In spite of this, the number of refinance packages still fell by 25 percent from 692,113 in the third quarter of 2022, and it was still 81 percent lower than a peak of 2,744,788 reached in the first quarter of 2021, when there were 2,744,788 refinance packages.
During the third quarter of 2023, the volume of refinancing packages reached $151.8 billion dollars, which was a 4 percent increase from $145.4 billion in the second quarter, but it was still down 33 percent from $225.8 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
The refinancing activity in 153 of the 201 U.S. metro areas with enough data to analyze showed an increase in quarterly activity, or 76 percent. However, refinancing activity declined annually in 195, or 97 percent, of the metro areas with enough data to analyze.
During the quarter ending December 31, 2023, the refinance loans in Huntsville, Alabama grew by 180.8 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter; Cedar Rapids, Iowa grew by 116 percent; South Bend, IN grew by 68.6 percent; Kingsport, TN grew by 55.3%; Springfield, IL grew by 48.7 percent.
Among the metro areas where refinance activity increased the most from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2023 with a population of at least 1 million, Tucson, AZ (up 24.3%), Honolulu, HI (up 17.8%), Indianapolis, IN (up 14.6%), Houston, TX (up 14.6%) and Dallas, TX (up 14.1%) had the most significant increase.
It has been reported that the largest decline in refinance loan numbers was observed in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million between the second and third quarters of 2023, as follows: St. Louis, MO (down 26.8%); San Francisco, CA (down 11.2 percent); San Jose, CA (down 11.2 percent); San Diego, CA (down 9.4 percent); and Seattle, WA (down 6.3 percent).
Purchase mortgages recede after second-quarter spikeLoans issued to home buyers resumed a downward path in the third quarter of 2023, dropping 7 percent following the spike of nearly 30 percent in the second quarter of this year. It was reported that 751,720 purchase mortgages were originated in the third quarter of 2023, a decrease of over a thousand from the second quarter.
There was also a 25 percent drop in the number of purchase mortgages in the third quarter of last year, from 1,004,508 in the third quarter of last year, and a 50 percent drop from the peak reached in the spring of 2021 among the latest purchase mortgages.
In the third quarter of 2023, the $283.1 billion dollar volume of purchase loans was down eight percent from the $306.8 billion dollar volume in the second quarter, as well as 24 percent from the $374.3 billion dollar volume in the third quarter of 2022.
The number of residential purchase-mortgage originations decreased quarterly in 137 of the 201 metro areas in the report (68 percent) and annually in 187 of those markets (93 percent).
In the third quarter of 2023, Atlanta, GA (down 46.3 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2023) and St. Louis, MO (down 35.3 percent) had the largest declines in purchase loans; Augusta, GA (down 30.8 percent); Greeley, CO (down 28 percent); and Gulfport, MS (down 23.7 percent).
Other than Atlanta and St. Louis, the largest quarterly decreases in population of metro areas with a population of at least one million in the third quarter of 2023 were in Orlando, FL (down 19.4 percent); Phoenix, AZ (down 19.3 percent); and Austin, TX (down 17.8 percent).
During the period of 2023, purchase lending in metro areas with at least one million residents grew by 38.3 percent between the second quarter of the year and the third quarter of the year. The top increases were in Buffalo, NY (up 38.3 percent), Honolulu, HI (up 23.6%), Rochester, NY (up 16.8 percent), Grand Rapids, MI (up 14.7%) and New York, NY (up 14.4%).
Two-thirds of U.S. homeowners are also experiencing a drop in HELOC lending. In the third quarter of 2023, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) also decreased. There were 271,647 HELOC loans given out by homeowners in the third quarter of 2023, a decline of 7 percent from 291,218 in the second quarter and a decline of 29 percent from 380,593 a year ago.
In the third quarter of 2023, the volume of HELOC loans sold decreased by 9 percent from $52.1 billion in the second quarter, a decrease of 9 percent. The latest level of HELOC loans was also 36 percent lower than the previous level over the same period last year.
As of the most recent quarter, HELOCs accounted for 17.6 percent of all loans. That is down from 18.3 percent in the preceding quarter, but still four times higher than the level recorded in the beginning of 2021.
A total of 67 percent of metro areas that were analyzed saw a decrease in HLOC mortgage originations between the second and third quarters of 2023. It is estimated that the largest decreases in home equity credit lines in metros with a population of at least 1 million took place in St. Louis, MO (down 39 percent); Pittsburgh, PA (down 33 percent); Honolulu, HI (down 27.9%); Boston, MA (down 15.3 percent) and Minneapolis, MN (down 15.2 percent).
As a result of the most significant quarterly increase in HELOC activity in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million and sufficient data to analyze, Tulsa, OK increased by 15.5%; Grand Rapids, MI increased by 11.4%; Tucson, AZ increased by 7.3 percent; San Antonio, TX increased by 7.1 percent and Hartford, CT increased by 5.6 percent.
FHA mortgage loans go up again as a percentage of all loans, while VA loans decrease for the eighth straight quarter. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is responsible for financing most of all home loans. They accounted for 233,975 or 15.2 percent of all residential property loans originated in the third quarter of 2023. The share was up from 13.7 percent in the second quarter of 2023 and 11.3% in the third quarter of 2022.
The number of residential loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) totaled 75,334, which is 4.9 percent of all residential property loans originated in the third quarter of 2023. This level is lower than 5.4 percent in the previous quarter, and is lower than 5.2 percent a year earlier.       
It is true that purchase loan amounts are trending downward while down payment percentages are on the riseThe third quarter of 2023 saw a slight decline in median single-family home loan amounts nationwide, but there was also an increase in the typical down payment percentage for home purchases.
There was a decline of 0.9 percent in median loan amounts among homes purchased with financing in the third quarter of 2023, compared with the third quarter of 2022. This is despite an increase of 1.1 percent from the third quarter of 2022, when the median loan amount was $319,000.
There was a 12 percent increase in the median down payment for single-family homes and condos purchased with financing in the third quarter of 2023, to $35,050.The second quarter of 2023 will see a 2 percent increase from the second quarter of 2022 of $31,250. Because home prices around the country are rising at a slower pace than they were a year ago, the typical down payment has increased as a percentage of the median purchase price. A total of nine countries were represented by it.The median price was down by 2 percent in the third quarter of 2023, compared with 8 percent in the third quarter of 2022.The increase was about the same as the prior quarter when it was 2 percent and about the same as the 9.It is at a 3 percent level compared to a year ago
It is at a 3 percent level compared to a year ago
ATOMATOM analyzed mortgage and deed of trust data for single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses, and multi-family properties with two to four units for this report. The dollar volume of each recorded mortgage or deed of trust was calculated by multiplying the total number of loan originations by the average loan amount for each loan origination. Each recorded mortgage or deed of trust was counted as a separate loan origination.
A brief overview of ATTOM

Source prnewswire