Snapshot: Quarter One Mortgage Origination Report MABA MassachusettsRealEstate FirstTimeHomeBuyers MaBuyerAgent

In quarter one of 2025, one point four million mortgages were secured by residential property (one to four units) in the U.S., according to ATTOM‘s quarter one 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. As the number of new loans continues to decline, that represented an approximate fourteen percent drop from the previous quarter.

New home financing arrangements have fallen back below pre-pandemic levels after reaching a recent peak of about four point two million loans each quarter in early 2021. An estimated twenty percent decline in home purchase loans, which went from seven hundred thirty eight thousand six hundred and seventy five in quarter four of 2024 to five hundred ninety three thousand one hundred and eleven in quarter one of 2025, was the main cause of the most recent decline. In the same quarter, home equity credit lines decreased five percent to two hundred and sixty thousand two hundred and sixty seven, while the number of residential property refinances decreased by twelve percent to five hundred and eighty thousand one hundred and seventy.

“The red-hot housing market we’ve seen over the last few years meant that most home loans were going toward new purchases, but that appears to be changing,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “Rather than borrowing money to buy a new property, the data shows homeowners are increasingly looking to restructure their existing mortgages or borrow equity from their homes to cover other expenses.”

From five hundred and eighty two billion dollars in quarter four of 2024 to four hundred and seventy eight billion dollars in quarter one of 2025, the total dollar value of loans decreased by eighteen percent, reflecting a drop in both the average loan amount and the number of borrowers. This is partly because the composition of the credit market is changing. Home purchase loans, which made up over half of all mortgages as recently as the fall of 2023, now make up forty one point four percent of the market, a decrease of two point eight percentage points from quarter four of 2024. In the meantime, the share of home equity line of credit and mortgage refinance deals which are typically smaller has increased to eighteen point two percent and forty point five percent of the market, respectively.

“If the current trend continues, mortgage refinancing deals will soon make up the biggest share of the home loan market,” Barber said. 

Quarterly Refis Slip But Uphold Steady Market Share

In quarter one of 2025, there were five hundred and eighty thousand one hundred and seventy mortgage refinance loans nationwide, a twelve point two percent decrease from six hundred and sixty one thousand and sixty seven in quarter four of 2024. However, the number of refinance loans increased sixteen point one percent from the previous year. In ATTOM’s survey, approximately eighty two point nine percent (one hundred and sixty) of the one hundred and ninety three metro areas saw a decline in the number of refinanced mortgages from quarter to quarter.

The metro areas with the biggest quarterly declines in refinancings were:

1. San Jose, CA (negative forty one point six percent)
2. Reno, NV (negative thirty eight percent)
3. Bend, OR (negative thirty five point one percent)
4. San Francisco, CA (negative thirty four point two percent)
5. Huntsville, AL (negative thirty three point eight percent)

The metro areas with the largest increase in refinancings compared to quarter four 2024 were:

1. Lubbock, Texas (positive seventy point four percent)
2. North Port-Sarasota, FL (positive fifty two point six percent)
3. McAllen, Texas (positive forty nine percent)
4. Brownsville, Texas (positive forty eight point three percent)
5. Asheville, NC (positive forty six point seven percent)

The metro regions with populations over one million that experienced the largest quarterly fall in refinance packages, aside from San Jose and San Francisco, were: St. Louis (negative twenty nine point nine percent); Raleigh, NC (negative twenty four point six percent); and Boston (negative twenty three point seven percent).

Only three of those biggest metro areas experienced an increase in mortgage refinances between quarter four of 2024 and quarter one of 2025: Orlando, Florida (positive one point six percent), Miami (positive five percent), and Tampa, FL (positive thirty nine point eight percent).

New Home Loans See Rapid Decline in Some U.S. Metros

Across the nation, mortgage industry activity has slowed, with lending expanding only in a few major metro regions. Some ninety three percent (one hundred and eighty) of the one hundred and ninety three metro statistical areas in ATTOM’s survey with populations of two hundred thousand or more and at least one thousand residential mortgages issued in quarter one of 2025 saw a quarterly decline in the number of issued mortgages.

In contrast to the same period last year, a large portion of the nation saw greater loans in the most recent quarter, despite the recent decline. In seventy three point six percent (one hundred and forty two) of the one hundred and ninety three metro areas, the overall number of mortgages rose from the previous year.

The largest quarterly decreases were in:

1. Duluth, MN (negative thirty five point six percent)
2. Fort Wayne, IN (negative thirty four point six percent)
3. Greeley, CO (negative thirty four point one percent)
4. St. Louis (negative thirty one point eight percent)
5. Anchorage, AK (negative thirty one point five percent)

The metro areas with the largest quarter-over-quarter growth in loans were:

1. Asheville, NC (positive twenty four point one percent)
2. Cape Coral, FL (positive twenty three point one percent)
3. North Port-Sarasota, FL (positive twenty one point seven percent)
4. Brownsville, Texas (positive twenty one point two percent)
5. Tampa, FL (positive seventeen point eight percent)

The value of homebuying mortgages fell an estimated twenty point one percent from two hundred and ninety three billion dollars to two hundred and thirty four billion dollars, while the number of mortgages issued nationwide decreased nineteen point seven percent from quarter-to-quarter. That was less than half of the most recent peak, which was reached in mid-2021 with one point six million purchase loans for five hundred and forty billion dollars. According to ATTOM’s survey of quarter one of 2025, mortgages for home purchases decreased quarterly in ninety four point eight percent (one hundred and eighty three) of the one hundred and ninety three metro regions.

The metro areas with the biggest quarter-over-quarter declines in loans for purchases were:

1. Greeley, CO (negative sixty eight percent)
2. Anchorage, AK (negative sixty seven point three percent)
3. Fort Wayne, IN (negative fifty four point seven percent)
4. Duluth, MN (negative forty six point eight percent)
5. Lubbock, Texas (negative forty four point nine percent)

The metro areas with the greatest growth compared to last quarter were:

1. Yuma, AZ (positive thirty five point five percent)
2. Cape Coral, FL (positive twenty eight point five percent)
3. Asheville, NC (positive point nine percent)
4. North Port-Sarasota, FL (positive six point four percent)
5. Colorado Springs, CO (positive six percent)

The number of home purchase loans increased quarterly just in two of those largest metro regions. Tucson, AZ, saw a three point nin epercent, while Tampa, FL saw an estimated four percent gain.

Among metro areas with populations over one million, the biggest quarterly declines in loans for home purchases were in:

1. Austin, Texas (negative thirty eight point five percent)
2. St. Louis (-negative thirty seven point eight percent)
3. Rochester, NY (negative thirty six point six percent)
4. Houston, Texas (negative thirty five point seven percent)
5. Indianapolis (negative thirty three point five percent)

While government changes continue and looming economic concerns persist, in quarter one of 2025, two hundred and twenty seven thousand one hundred and fifty nine thousand Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed loans were granted by lenders. That was up two point six percent year-over-year but down 8.8% from the prior quarter. From fourteen point nine to fifteen point eight percent, the proportion of all home loans that are FHA-backed increased from quarter-to-quarter.

There were only seventy eight thousand eight hundred and sixty two loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). That was eight point four percent higher year-over-year but twenty seven point two percent lower than quarter four of 2024. In quarter one of 2025, VA-backed loans made up five point five percent of all loans.

Further, across the country, home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) experienced the least decline. Between the first quarter of 2025 and quarter four of 2024, they fell four point five percent, from two hundred and seventy two thousand five hundred and thirty five to two hundred and sixty thousand two hundred and sixty seven. However, that was thirteen point nine percent higher than it was in quarter one of the previous year. In sixty one point seven percent (one hundred and nineteen) of the one hundred and ninety three metro regions in ATTOM’s survey, the number of HELOCs decreased from quarter-to-quarter.

To read more, click here.

The post Snapshot: Q1 Mortgage Origination Report  first appeared on The MortgagePoint.

FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS

Buyer’s Agents Explained