Originations Hit a Record $4.4 Trillion in 2021

The mortgage industry originated a record $4.4 trillion last year, activity led by record purchase lending volume and a surging cash-out refinance appetite, Black Knight revealed.

The $1.7 trillion in purchase lending is the most ever recorded, according to Black Knight’s Mortgage Monitor Report of January data. Refi originations fell 34% last year compared to 2020 but still accounted for $2.7 trillion in volume, including $1.2 trillion in cash-out refis, the most since 2005.

Homeowners in cash-out refis withdrew $275 billion in equity last year and $80 billion in Q4 2021 alone, the most prolific quarter in 15 years, Black Knight said. The available equity withdrawn was the most since the Great Recession, although still just half of the all-time high reached in 2006.

“Despite that sizable withdrawal, surging home values meant overall tappable equity still grew by nearly $450 billion in the quarter,” Black Knight President Ben Graboske said in a press release.

Learn more (National Mortgage News)