Refinance Product Transition Report
Freddie Mac's Refinance Product Transition Report tracks how homeowners change their mortgage terms and loan types when they refinance their mortgage. It details the volume and characteristics of "old" mortgages that are paid off and replaced by "new" refinance mortgages within Freddie Mac’s portfolio and tracks shifts between different loan types and terms.
Refinancing is the primary driver of unscheduled principal prepayments. By tracking how homeowners transition from old mortgage products into new ones, investors can make more informed decisions regarding their investment strategies and can gain a better understanding of borrower behavior and overall market conditions.
Methodology
The following criteria is applied to determine the monthly refinance product transition reporting population for refinance mortgages delivered to Freddie Mac beginning in January 2020:
Only include cash-out and rate/term refinance mortgages delivered to Freddie Mac during the reporting period.
The origination date of the refinance mortgage and the payoff date of the existing Freddie Mac loan must be within 45 days of one another.
Only include refinance mortgages that resulted in the prepayment of an existing Freddie Mac loan, matched by property address and borrower’s social security numbers.
There should be at least 90 days between the funding dates of the old and new loans and at least 90 days between the origination dates of the two loans.
Additional Information
- Old Mortgage Product – An existing Freddie Mac owned mortgage that was paid-off by a newly originated refinance mortgage delivered to Freddie Mac for the same property and borrower(s).
- New Mortgage Product – A newly originated refinance mortgage that was delivered to Freddie Mac during the monthly reporting period and resulted in the payoff of an active mortgage on the same property.
- Mortgage Products – the mortgage products included in the report contain the following maturity ranges:
- FRM 40YR = Fixed-Rate mortgages with maturities of 40 years or more.
- FRM 30YR = Fixed-Rate mortgages with maturities between 21 and 30 years.
- FRM 20YR = Fixed-Rate mortgages with maturities of 20 years.
- FRM 15YR = Fixed-Rate mortgages with maturities of 15 years.
- FRM 10YR = Fixed-Rate mortgages with maturities of 10 years.
- ARM = All adjustable-rate mortgages, regardless of adjustment intervals.
File Specification and Publication Details
The Refinance Product Transition report will be published on the fourth business day of the month at 10AM EST. The file will be appended with refinance transition information from the prior month and will consistently provide a lookback to refinance activity beginning in January 2020.
| Position | Attribute Name | Format | Valid Values |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Month | YYYYMM | |
| 2 | Old Mortgage Product | String (8) | FRM 40YR FRM 30YR FRM 20YR FRM 15YR FRM 10YR ARM |
| 3 | New Mortgage Product | String (8) | FRM 40YR FRM 30YR FRM 20YR FRM 15YR FRM 10YR ARM |
| 4 | Volume Percentage | Decimal (3.2) | 0.00 – 100.00 |