Quarterly total follows three-year trend of spring increase; Share of equity lending drops again

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its Q2 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, which shows that 1.76 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were issued in the second quarter of 2025. That marked a 19.4 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 6.3 percent uptick from the same period last year.

The $601.7 billion in total dollar volume represented a 22.8 percent increase from Q1 2025 and a 10.3 percent rise year over year. Refinance loans and purchase lending both posted strong quarterly increases, while home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) also ticked upward.

While lending levels remain below their pandemic-era peaks, the Q2 gains were driven more by seasonal momentum and brief rate dips than any broad-based housing recovery. Refinance lending, in particular, showed signs of life as some homeowners looked to reset terms during a window of marginally improved rates.

"Mortgage activity perked up a bit in the second quarter, but it's not a clear signal that the market has turned a corner," said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. "The increase in purchase and refinance activity reflects some buyer and homeowner response to marginal rate improvements, but underlying affordability and economic uncertainty continue to hold the market in check. This was a typical spring bounce, not yet a breakout."

Overall Lending Activity Increases to 1.76 million
Total loan originations rose to nearly 1.76 million in Q2 2025, marking both a quarterly rebound and the first year-over-year increase for any second quarter since the pandemic boom in 2021. This suggests the lending market may be stabilizing after several years of uneven activity. Total mortgage activity increased quarterly in 201 of the 212 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed. The largest quarterly gains among metro areas with populations of at least 1 million were found in Indianapolis, IN (up 70.8 percent); San Jose, CA (up 47.3 percent); Rochester, NY (up 43.8 percent); Boston, MA (up 38.0 percent); and Buffalo, NY (up 35.2 percent).

In contrast, just 11 of the 210 metros analyzed saw a quarterly decline in overall lending, with the sharpest drops occurring in North Port-Sarasota, FL and Myrtle Beach, FL.

Purchase Lending Rises Across Nation
Purchase loan activity fell to just over 758,000 in the second quarter of 2025, down about 5 percent from the same period last year. Despite the decline, volume still improved from the first quarter, pointing to a modest seasonal upswing.

The growth in purchase lending was widespread, rising quarterly in 97 percent of the metro areas analyzed. Notable quarterly increases were recorded in some of the largest metros with Los Angeles, CA (up 23.4 percent); Chicago, IL (up 28.1 percent); Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (up 3.3 percent); Houston, TX (up 17.6 percent); and Washington, DC (up 35.4 percent).

On the other end of the spectrum the largest metro area, New York, NY experienced a 4.7 decrease from the previous quarter.

Refinance Lending Jumps Amid Modest Rate Adjustments
A total of 689,217 refinance loans were issued in Q2, up 16.4 percent from the prior quarter and up 23.8 percent from a year earlier. Refinance dollar volume rose 18.5 percent quarterly to $232.8 billion. The share of refinance loans dipped slightly to 39.3 percent of all originations, down from 40.3 percent in Q1.

Refinance activity rose in 188 of the 212 metro areas analyzed, with the largest quarterly gains concentrated in metro areas with populations exceeding 1 million, including Boston, MA (up 91.6 percent); Rochester, NY (up 61.6 percent); San Jose, CA (up 61.2 percent); Providence, RI (up 52.6 percent); and Hartford, CT (up 39.3 percent).

However, refinance lending remained sluggish in traditionally rate-sensitive markets such as Salt Lake City, UT, and Miami, FL, where activity showed only modest or no improvement.

Home Equity Lending Edges Up in Second Quarter as Borrowers Tap Property Wealth
Home equity lending increased to 307,046 originations in Q2 2025, marking a 16.2 percent jump from the previous quarter and a 4.7 percent uptick from the same period last year. The dollar volume of HELOCs also increased to $59.9 billion, but their share of all loans fell slightly to 17.5 percent.

Among metro areas with populations of at least 1 million, the largest quarterly increases in HELOC activity were observed in Buffalo, NY (up 60.9 percent); Minneapolis, MN (up 42.2 percent); Tulsa, OK (up 39.9 percent); San Jose, CA (up 39.6 percent); and Grand Rapids, MI (up 38.8 percent).

FHA and VA Lending Tick Up, While Construction Loans Dip Slightly
FHA lending rose in the second quarter of 2025, with 250,683 loans originated. That marks an increase from both the prior quarter and the same period last year, bringing FHA's share of total loan activity to 14.3 percent.

VA loans also saw gains, reaching 100,628 loans and comprising 5.7 percent of the market, up slightly from the first quarter. Meanwhile, construction loan activity declined to 26,070 loans, down from the previous quarter and now making up just 1.5 percent of all originations.

Report methodology
ATTOM analyzed recorded mortgage and deed of trust data for single-family homes, condos, town homes and multi-family properties of two to four units for this report. Each recorded mortgage or deed of trust was counted as a separate loan origination. Dollar volume was calculated by multiplying the total number of loan originations by the average loan amount for those loan originations.

About ATTOM
ATTOM powers innovation across industries with premium property data and analytics covering 158 million U.S. properties—99% of the population. Our multi-sourced real estate data includes property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, neighborhood and geospatial boundary information, all validated through a rigorous 20-step process and linked by a unique ATTOM ID.

From flexible delivery solutions—such as Property Data APIs, Bulk File Licenses, Cloud Delivery, Real Estate Market Trends—to AI-Ready datasets, ATTOM fuels smarter decision-making across industries including real estate, mortgage, insurance, government, and more.

Media Contact:
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Megan.hunt@attomdata.com

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SOURCE ATTOM