Record-low mortgage rates along with a revamped Home Affordable Refinance Program helped 81,000 homeowners refinance their mortgages through HARP in October, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday.
During the first 10 months of the year, about 790,619 loans made it through the government’s HARP program, allowing more underwater borrowers a chance to refinance.
Of those borrowers who refinanced through the program in October, 45% had loan-to-value ratios above 105%, while one-fourth possessed LTVs greater than 125%, the FHFA said.
Almost 20% of underwater HARP participants in October were in shorter 15- to 20-year mortgages.
About half of the total refinances in the hardest hit states of Arizona and Nevada in the first 10 months of the year were tied to HARP, and 60% of Florida refinances for the same period made it through the program.
