A report from government-service enterprise (GSE) Freddie Mac indicates of all the borrowers refinancing Freddie loans in Q3 2013, 37 percent chose shorter loan terms, a five percent increase from the previous quarter and the highest level recorded since 1992. According to housingwire, 32 percent of HARP (Home Affordable Refinancing Program) borrowers refinanced into shorter-term loans; 40 percent of those not going through HARP also obtained mortgages with faster pay-off schedules. Only four percent chose to lengthen their loan term, as MHProNews has learned. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, said, “Mortgage rates on 15-year fixed-rate loans averaged nearly a full percentage point below 30-year loans during the third quarter, providing a financial incentive for homeowners to term shorten. HARP refinancers have an additional incentive to shorten as some origination fees are waived. By obtaining lower interest rates, borrowers will save approximately $6 billion in interest over the next 12 months, which they can put towards savings, paying down debt or supporting additional expenditures.”
