Mortgage Industry Soars to Record With $4.4 Trillion in Loans

Nearly $4.4 trillion of home mortgages are set to be originated this year in the U.S., according to data provider Black Knight Inc.

That record amount is about $300 billion more than the most optimistic forecast among estimates from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve has helped fuel a housing rally by keeping interest rates low and buying mortgage bonds to stimulate the economy.The previous originations record was set in 2003, when the Fed cut interest rates and spurred a boom in refinancings that led to $3.8 trillion of new mortgages that year. ...