Overall mortgage activity is down in the Chicagoland 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, Chicagoland lenders oversaw 45,982 originations, a 16 percent decline from 2015’s fourth quarter and a 13 percent decline 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 15,894, they were up 11 percent year-over-year.
- The true source of the overall decline was refinancings, which fell 26 percent year-over-year to 22,389.
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 Chicagoland’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% |