Residential mortgage originations fell 19.4% to $484.4 million among all U.S. lenders in the fourth quarter, as refinances fell sharply and purchases were anemic, according to a report released Thursday by a Los Angeles data analysis company.

It marked the fourth quarter in a row that originations generated over three months were lower than those from a year earlier. Credit unions have seen drops only since the third quarter.

The ATTOM Data Solutions report showed U.S. purchase mortgages rose 1.9% to $213.8 billion in the three months that ended Dec. 31, 2017, while mortgage refinancings fell 35.4% to $213.8 billion.

For the year, purchase mortgages rose 3% to $901.1 billion, while refinances fell 25.8% to $866.6 billion.

Daren Blomquist, ATTOM's senior vice president for communications, said some of the largest declines were in the previously hot housing markets of California and Colorado.

“Some of the higher-priced markets are faltering in demand for housing,” Blomquist said.

On the flip side, some markets are rising because they are attracting new residents, including Raleigh, N.C.

Two major Raleigh-based credit unions saw declines in 2017's fourth quarter, but increases for the year:

Local Government Federal Credit Union ($1.9 billion in assets, 321,118 members) had $407.1 million in total real estate originations for the year, up 5.7%. First-liens rose 3.2% $364.5 million as second liens jumped 32.9% to $42.6 million.
Coastal Federal Credit Union ($2.9 billion in assets, 242,047 members) had $688.2 million in real estate originations in 2017, up 5.7%. First-liens rose 6.1% to $558.5 million, while second liens rose 3.7% to $129.7 million.

Wendy Dawson, Coastal FCU's vice president of mortgages, said the capital city metro area has been bolstered by strong job growth, a booming tech sector, a low cost of living and an influx of new residents.

The report also listed the nation's 16 lenders with residential real estate originations exceeding $10 billion in the fourth quarter.

Navy Federal Credit Union of Vienna, Va. was the only credit union on the list, ranking 12th. ATTOM, which canvasses public property records offices nationwide, found Navy Federal originated $12.3 billion in total residential mortgages, including $7.3 billion for purchases and $5 billion in refinances.

NCUA data, which also includes business loans, shows Navy ($90.6 billion in assets, 7.5 million members) originated $15.7 billion in 2017, up 14.5%. NCUA data does not distinguish between purchase and refinance mortgages.

For the fourth quarter, Navy Federal originated $4.2 billion in loans, up 13% from 2016's fourth quarter. First mortgages rose 13.2% to $3.9 billion, while second liens rose 26.6% to $249.5 million.

For all 5,689 credit unions tracked by NCUA, first mortgages fell 9.1% to $36.4 billion in the fourth quarter, while second liens rose 13.5% to $8.4 billion.

Total real estate originations among credit unions was $44.8 billion, down 5.6% from 2016's fourth quarter. Third-quarter originations fell 3.7%, but originations had been rising since at least the first quarter of 2016, including a jump of 31.6% in 2016's fourth quarter.

Mortgage interest rates started rising in late 2016, contributing to a spike in refinancings as borrowers who had been wavering chose to close on loans before rates went even higher.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages moved from 3.47% in October 2016 to 4.20% in December 2016, but edged down to 3.95% by the end of last year. Last month the average was 4.3%, according to Freddie Mac.

Instant Insights /

Falling ReFis Drag Down 4Q Mortgage Originations

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