HARP Crosses 3 Million Mark; Delinquencies Rates Keep Shining

The Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP)rnhas scored a significant milestone according to the Federal Housing FinancernAgency, hitting the 3 million mark for refinances.  The cumulative number of homes refinancedrnthrough the program totaled 3,027,937 at the end of November. Although thernprogram was initiated in April 2009, 1.9 million of its refinances took placernin 2012 and year-to-date 2013 after significant enhancements were made to loanrnlimits and eligibility.</p

“Threernmillion HARP refinances is an important accomplishment and represents real helprnto families and communities still struggling as a result of the mortgagerncrisis,” said FHFA Director Mel Watt. “We are continuing our efforts to makernsure that those who can take advantage of this program have the informationrnthey need to do so.” </p

HARP is available to assist homeownersrnwith existing mortgages held or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (thernGSEs) and is specifically targeted toward those with little or no equity inrntheir homes.  Originally designed for refinancingrnloans with loan to value ratios up to 105 percent, limits were raised severalrntimes and then eliminated altogether. rnThe majority of the 862,892 loans refinanced in 2013 (through November)rnhad loan to value ratios under 105 percent (513,476), but about 20 percentrn(165,568) had LTV’s exceeding 125 percent. </p

There were 38,732 HARP refinancesrncompleted in November compared to 46,387 in October.  However, as total refinances through the GSEsrndeclined with rising interest rates and seasonal factors, HARP refinancesrnrepresented 24 percent of GSE refinances in both months.  Approximately 24,000 of the HARP refinancesrnin November were done through Fannie Mae as compared to 24,000 the previousrnmonth and Freddie Mac did 15,000, down from 18,000.</p

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Of the 3.03 million HARP refinancesrnaccomplished since the program began, 2.56 million were for primary owner-occupiedrnresidences and 368,000 were for investment properties. Ninety-seven thousand HARPrnloans were written on second or vacation homes.</p

It appears that HARP loans are helpingrnkeep those homeowners who refinance through them on track.  Those who refinanced have experienced arnserious delinquency of 90 days or more since then at much lower rates thanrnthose who appeared to be HARP eligible but did not refinance.  </p

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