Mortgage bankers double their 2020 refinance forecast
March 10, 2020 | Diana Olick | CNBC
Rock-bottom mortgage rates are causing a surge in mortgage refinances, so much so that the industry’s largest trade group is revising sharply higher its origination forecasts for the year.
The Mortgage Bankers Association is now forecasting total mortgage originations of approximately $2.61 trillion this year — a 20.3% gain over 2019′s $2.17 trillion and a jump from last month’s forecast of $1.99 trillion.
Refinance originations are driving the change, now expected to double earlier MBA projections, and jumping 36.7% from last year to about $1.23 trillion.