Transition from Refis to HELOCs; Rates Pull Back; Consumers Expecting Low Inflation/Wages

Transition from Refis to HELOCs; Rates Pull Back; Consumers Expecting Low Inflation/Wages

Years into the refinance boom Black Knight Financial Services estimates there are still millions of homeowners who could qualify for and benefit from turning in their existing mortgages for a new model. The company, in its current Mortgage Monitor says that group includes about 5.2 million homeowners and that 2.4 million of them could save $200 or more per month through refinancing. The pool is shrinking however as interest rates rise and Black Knight estimates that a 50 basis point increase in rates would eliminate 2.1 million potential candidates from refinance eligibility, a 42 percent drop. A full point increase would take out an additional 1 million borrowers. There is still a lot of equity out there that homeowners could utilize if they wished. That "tappable" equity is probably around