Mortgage activity is soaring, with total mortgage origination balances reaching $466 billion in the first quarter -- nearly a 75 percent increase from the same time a year ago, according to Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report. Loan Demand Surges 75% Ahead of Last Year | Realtor Magazine
The bulk of the growth has been to first mortgages, which zoomed nearly 80 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014 to $430 billion. The number of first mortgages originated in the first three months of the year was 1.78 million -- a 55 percent increase over the same time a year ago and 14 percent higher than in the fourth quarter of 2014. Read the article.