ST. LOUIS– The number of mortgage loans issued during the second quarter of 2021 is down from the beginning of the year and St. Louis had one of the biggest decreases in the nation.
For metro areas with a population of more than one million, St. Louis saw the biggest decrease in total loans between the first and second quarters of 2021. That decrease was 41.9% according to ATTOM, a company that curates a property database.
The report also said St. Louis had the biggest decreases in refinance activity between the first and second quarters for areas with more than one million people. St. Louis refinances were down 50%. That decrease is substantially more than Pittsburgh, PA which took the second spot with a 38% decrease in refinances.
ATTOM says the rare quarterly drop-off came as a decrease in refinance activity nationwide canceled out a rise in home-purchase and home-equity lending.
The report states refinance mortgages still accounted for a majority of all home-lending activity during the second quarter. However, the proportion dipped from 67% to 59%, the biggest decline in four years.
Home-equity lines of credits (HELOCs) were up nationally between the first and second quarters but did not fare so well in St. Louis. St. Louis was down 61% for HELOCs during that time period. Atlanta took the top spot, down 81% between the two quarters.
“The demand for home loans across the country shifted significantly in the second quarter as refinancing activity receded and home-purchase and equity loans increased. We haven’t seen that pattern for several years,” said Todd Teta, chief product officer at ATTOM in a press release.
Here are the top metro areas with more than one million people that saw the biggest decrease along with St. Louis:
- St. Louis: – 42%
- Pittsburgh, PA: – 24%
- Atlanta, GA: – 17%
- Seattle, WA:- 16%
- San Francisco, CA: -16%
While St. Louis saw the biggest decrease for a metro area with at least one million people, the largest quarterly decreases or areas with more than 200,000 people were:
- Ann Arbor, MI: – 60%
- Sioux Falls, SD: – 57%
- Appleton, WI: – 57%
- Des Moines, IA: – 56%
- Myrtle Beach, SC: – 53%
These areas saw the biggest increase in the total number of mortgages from the first quarter:
- Virgina Beach, VA: 50%
- Scranton, PA: 36%
- Eria, PA: 35%
- Oklahoma City, OK: 35%
- Syracuse, NY: 32%
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