Mortgage Originations Tick Up Slightly

Homebuyer activity has slowed in recent months, but Q-3 2025 saw a slight uptick in new mortgages. According to property data provider ATTOM’s Q-3 2025 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, mortgage originations increased by 1.9% year-over-year in Q-3 2025. Compared with Q-2 2025, however, mortgage originations were down by 1.6%. In total, 1.77 million mortgage loan originations were recorded in Q-3 2025.

While these figures represent nationwide data, some metros recorded much higher mortgage activity in Q-3 2025. With a quarter-over-quarter increase of 17.3%, Buffalo, N.Y., saw the biggest uptick in mortgage originations, followed by Cleveland wth a 12% increase and New York City with a 10.2% increase.

At the same time, 111 metros saw quarterly declines in total lending, with the sharpest quarterly drops in Austin, TX; Myrtle Beach, FL; Rochester, NM; Waco, TX; and Columbus, GA.