An estimated 1.76 million mortgages secured by residential property (1–4 units) were granted in the second quarter of 2025, according to ATTOM’s Q2 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. That was up 6.3% from the same time last year and 19.4 percent from the previous quarter.
The total monetary volume of $601.7 billion was up 10.3 percent year over year and 22.8 percent from the first quarter of 2025. In addition to home equity lines of credit (HELOCs), which saw a little increase, refinance loans and purchase lending both reported robust quarterly growth.
Although lending levels are still below their peaks from the pandemic, seasonal momentum and short-term rate decreases drove the Q2 improvements more than any widespread housing recovery. As some homeowners sought to reset terms during a period of slightly better rates, refinance lending in particular showed signs of optimism.
“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.”
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In Q2 2025, total loan originations increased to over 1.76 million, which was the first year-over-year gain for any second quarter since the pandemic boom in 2021 and also a quarterly rebound. This implies that following years of erratic activity, the loan market may be stabilizing. Of the 212 metropolitan statistical regions examined, 201 had a quarterly increase in total mortgage activity. Among metro regions with a population of at least one million, Indianapolis, Indiana (up 70.8%), San Jose, California (47.3%), Rochester, New York (43.8%), Boston, Massachusetts (38.0%), and Buffalo, New York (35.2%) saw the biggest quarterly gains.
Only 11 of the 210 metro areas examined experienced a quarterly decrease in total lending, with North Port-Sarasota, Florida, and Myrtle Beach, Florida, experiencing the worst declines.
In the second quarter of 2025, purchase loan activity decreased by around 5% from the same period the previous year, to little over 758,000. Even with the drop, volume was still better than it was in the first quarter, suggesting a little seasonal increase.
In 97 percent of the metro regions examined, purchase loans increased on a quarterly basis, indicating a broad expansion. Some of the larger metro areas saw notable quarterly increases, including Los Angeles, California (up 23.4%), Chicago, Illinois (up 28.1%), Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas (up 3.3%), Houston, Texas (17.6%), and Washington, DC (35.4%).
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