Overall mortgage activity is down in the Metro Atlanta housing market this year, but that only tells half the story, according to RealtyTrac’s Q1 2016 U.S. Residential Property Loan Origination Report.
Through the first quarter, RealtyTrac found, Atlanta lenders oversaw 34,104 originations, a 13 percent decline from 2015’s fourth quarter that is flat from Q1 2015. Breaking those numbers down more, though, provides some nuance to the declines:
- Purchase loans were actually up in the first quarter. Totaling 14,916, they were up 12 percent year-over-year.
- The true source of the overall decline was refinancings, which fell 13 percent year-over-year to 15,275.
Daren Blomquist, the senior vice president at RealtyTrac, commented in the report on a nationwide decline in refinancing activity.
“After a surprisingly strong 2015, the mortgage refinancing market started running out of steam in the first quarter of 2016, despite lower mortgage interest rates,” he said.
Click on the tabs below to compare Atlanta’s mortgage activity to that of other large metro areas:
| Metro Area | Total Originations – Q1 2016 | QOQ Change | YOY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 34,104 | -13% | 0% |
| Chicago | 45,982 | -16% | -13% |
| Dallas | 38,472 | -6% | -1% |
| Denver | 31,345 | -14% | -6% |
| Houston | 25,081 | -13% | -16% |
| Los Angeles | 69,412 | -5% | -12% |
| Miami | 29,934 | -9% | 6% |
| Philadelphia | 29,380 | -22% | -18% |
| New York | 64,383 | -13% | -7% |
| Phoenix | 35,699 | -3% | -7% |
| San Francisco | 33,830 | -10% | -11% |
| Seattle | 31,103 | -6% | -5% |
| Washington D.C. | 41,706 | -7% | -10% |
| Metro Area | Purchase Loans – Q1 2016 | QOQ Change | YOY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 14,916 | -17% | 12% |
| Chicago | 15,894 | -24% | 11% |
| Dallas | 17,692 | -13% | 2% |
| Denver | 9,235 | -26% | -1% |
| Houston | 11,256 | -19% | -18% |
| Los Angeles | 18,931 | -14% | 7% |
| Miami | 13,172 | -13% | 8% |
| Philadelphia | 8,853 | -31% | -4% |
| New York | 19,527 | -20% | 9% |
| Phoenix | 16,367 | -5% | 4% |
| San Francisco | 7,094 | -29% | -2% |
| Seattle | 10,025 | -17% | 3% |
| Washington D.C. | 14,430 | -15% | 13% |
| Metro Area | Refinancings – Q1 2016 | QOQ Change | YOY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | 15,275 | -11% | -13% |
| Chicago | 22,389 | -7% | -26% |
| Dallas | 17,404 | 2% | -9% |
| Denver | 14,916 | -7% | -16% |
| Houston | 11,433 | -3% | -16% |
| Los Angeles | 39,001 | 2% | -23% |
| Miami | 12,093 | -3% | 0% |
| Philadelphia | 12,916 | -18% | -32% |
| New York | 30,280 | -9% | -20% |
| Phoenix | 15,232 | 0% | -21% |
| San Francisco | 18,845 | -1% | -21% |
| Seattle | 14,512 | 2% | -19% |
| Washington D.C. | 20,338 | 1% | -24% |