Refi

Cash-out refis skyrocketed in the last three months, while overall rate locks for mortgage originations increased in August, according to Black Knight’s latest Mortgage Origination Monitor report. Rate locks rose 1.3% from July, driven by a 7.6% increase in cash-out refinancing activity. Refi lending is up 41% over the last three months, making refi the largest share of the market for the first time since February.  “The rise in cash-out lending is hardly surprising given the extraordinary growth we’ve seen in tappable equity this year,” Black Knight Secondary Marketing Technologies President Scott Happ said. American homeowners gained a record $1 trillion in tappable equity in the second quarter of 2021. “We’ve now seen cash-out activity increase for three consecutive months,…