The Mortgage Bankers Association lowered its forecast of mortgage sales to $2.03 trillion for 2009. The March 2009 forecast had higher hopes with sales expectations of over $2.7 trillion. The decrease is due to lower than expected originations and refinancing. Also, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) has experienced very low sales volumes. Only 13,000 HARP loans have been completed to date. Original HARP expectations were projected at 1.5 - 2 million loans refinanced.
The increase in sales volume in March was stalled by the rising interest rates in May. The decrease in sales can also be attributed to higher than expected rates of price depreciation. The threat of inflation and continued rate increase may also be a factor in the lowered forecast.