IRVINE, CA — A total of 1,719,362 residential mortgages were issued in the fourth quarter of 2025, representing $627.3 billion in lending, as refinancing activity surpassed home purchase loans for the first time in nearly four years, according to ATTOM.
The Q4 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report showed loan volume declined 6% from the third quarter but was essentially level with the fourth quarter of 2024. In dollar terms, lending rose 1% quarter over quarter and 4% year over year.
Refinancing loans accounted for 42.6% of all mortgages issued during the quarter, compared with 39.9% for home purchase loans. It marked the first time since the first quarter of 2022 that refinances represented a larger share than purchases.
“Loans, particularly for new purchases, typically slow down in the fourth quarter as fewer people are buying houses,” ATTOM Chief Executive Officer Rob Barber said in a statement. “But this year, that seasonal slowdown was offset by a rise in refinancing, likely driven by the steady drop in mortgage rates, which have been some of the lowest we’ve seen since 2022.”
There were 732,615 refinancing loans issued in the fourth quarter, up 6% from the prior quarter and up 11% from a year earlier. In dollar volume, refinances totaled $289.1 billion, rising 25% quarter over quarter and 21% year over year.
Home purchase lending totaled 685,583 loans, down 14% from the third quarter and down 13% from a year earlier. Purchase loans generated $278.1 billion in dollar volume, down 14% quarter over quarter and 10% year over year.
Home-equity line of credit loans reached 301,164 during the quarter, declining 10% from the prior quarter but increasing 9% compared with the fourth quarter of 2024. HELOCs accounted for 17.5% of all loans.
Loan originations increased quarter over quarter in 29.1% of the 206 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed, while purchase lending declined in nearly 90% of those markets.
Among metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million, San Jose, San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles posted quarterly gains in overall loan originations. Buffalo, Austin, Rochester, Atlanta and Pittsburgh recorded the largest quarterly declines.
Federal Housing Administration-backed loans accounted for 11.4% of all loans in the fourth quarter, while Veterans Administration loans represented 7.4%. Construction loans accounted for 1.1% of total lending activity.
ATTOM’s report is based on recorded mortgage and deed of trust data for single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes and multifamily properties with two to four units across more than 3,000 U.S. counties.
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