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MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 50 December 2025 J O U R N A L Lending/Originations MORTGAGE ORIGINATIONS DIPPED IN Q3 DESPITE GAINS IN REFIS, HELOCS U .S. mortgage originations fell 2% in Q3, according to AT- TOM's Q3 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. ATTOM said its report showed 1.77 million mortgages secured by residential property (one to four units) were issued in Q3, marking a 1.6% decrease from the prior quarter but a 1.9% increase over the same period last year. ATTOM said that mortgage activity rose quarterly in 98 of 209 U.S. metropolitan areas it analyzed. "Mortgage activity eased back a touch from the spring pickup, but it's still running slightly ahead of last year," ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said. "The modest lift in refinance and HELOC activity suggests some homeowners are taking advantage of small rate improve- ments and tapping equity, while pur- chase activity remains constrained by affordability. Taken together, Q3 looks like a market treading water rather than turning a corner." ATTOM reported that the $600.4 billion in total dollar volume represent- ed a 3.1% decrease from Q2 but a 3.1% increase from the same period last year. It said that purchase loans fell quarter over quarter and year over year (YoY), while refinance loans and HELOCs moved higher on both a quarterly and annual basis. Overall Lending Activity Fell Slightly The biggest quarterly gains among metros with populations over 1 million included: 1. Buffalo, New York (up +17.3%) 2. Cleveland (+12%) 3. New York, New York (+10.2%) 4. Philadelphia (+8.1%) 5. Portland, Oregon (+7.5%) It said that 111 metro areas expe- rienced quarterly declines in total lending, with the sharpest quarterly drops in Austin, Texas; Myrtle Beach, SC; Rochester, New York; Waco, Texas; and Columbus, Georgia. Purchase Mortgage Lending Cooled in Q3 Purchase mortgage originations fell to 765,667 loans in Q3 2025—down 4.8% from Q2 and down 6.6% from Q3 2024. Purchase loan dollar volume dropped to $309.6 billion, down 5.2% quarter over quarter (QoQ) and 3.3% YoY. Purchase loans accounted for 43.2% of all origina- tions and 51.6% of total dollar volume, down from 44.6% and 52.7% in Q2 2025, ATTOM reported. Purchase mortgage lending declined QoQ in 67% of the 209 metros analyzed. Major markets with populations exceed- ing 1 million, with the steepest quarterly drops included: 1. Austin, Texas (down -35.6%) 2. Atlanta (-25.8%) 3. San Antonio (-19.5%) 4. Washington, D.C. (-15.8%) 5. Dallas (-15.7%) The large metros with the strongest quarterly gains included: 1. Buffalo, New York 2. New York 3. Rochester, New York 4. Cleveland 5. Philadelphia Refinance Lending Realizes Modest Growth Refinance loan originations rose to 688,502 in Q3 2025, up 0.2% from Q2 and up 12% from Q3 2024. Refinance loan volume reached $229.7 billion, down 1.2% QoQ but up 12.5% annually, ATTOM said. Refinances accounted for 38.8% of all loans and 38.3% of total dollar volume. Both were slightly above the previous quarter. Refinance activity rose quarterly in 110 metros, led by the following metros with populations exceeding 1 million: 1. Las Vegas, Nevada (up +32.9) 2. New Orleans, Louisiana (+17.9%) 3. Phoenix, Arizona (+16.7%) 4. Cleveland, Ohio (+15.4%) 5. Honolulu, Hawaii (+14.8%) Home-Equity Lending Continues Rising Home-equity line of credit (HELOC) lending rose to 319,318 loans in Q3—up 2.8% from Q2 and up 4.6% from Q3 2024. HELOC dollar volume rose to $61.1 billion, up 0.7% QoQ and 5.9% YoY. HELOCs comprised 18% of all mortgage originations and 10.2% of total dollar vol- ume, compared to 17.2% and 9.8% in the previous quarter, according to ATTOM. The largest quarterly HELOC increases among metro areas with popu- lations above 1 million were in: