Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda: Cost of Not Refinancing Tops $1 Billion

Over the course of 2018, mortgage rates have increased a full percentage point, and the number of home loan borrowers who would have benefited from refinancing their home fell 56 percent.

A new report from property data provider Black Knight finds that the borrowers who should have refinanced their homes this year missed out on an average monthly savings of roughly $252.00. At the macro-level, 5.9 million borrowers who would have saved by refinancing over the past two years did not do so, and in 2018, 2.2 million borrowers who could have saved are no longer able to do so. CNBC reports that the study counts only borrowers who were likely to qualify with strong FICO credit scores and at least 20 percent equity in their residences.

"All told, that amounts to an aggregate of more than $1 billion in lost savings every month for these borrowers," said Ben Graboske, executive vice president of Black Knight's data and analytics division. As of now, just under 1.9 million borrowers still have an incentive to refinance and could likely qualify. That is the fewest since 2008. Mortgage applications to refinance have been falling steadily and are now about 32 percent lower compared with a year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

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