Prepayment Rate and Refinanceable Population Have Both Soared
Prepayments, apparently spurred by the recent retreat in interest rates, soared in May. Black Knight Financial Services, in its “first look” at the month's mortgage performance data, said there was a 23 percent increase in prepayments, historically a good indicator of refinancing activity , from April to May, bringing the incidence to the highest so far in 2017, 1.06 percent. The company said the first quarter of this year was a bad one for refinancing, with originations falling 45 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016 as interest rates took off.