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.
