HARP 2.0 : 10 States Which Account for 65% Of HARP Mortgage Rate Requests Nationwide

In late-2011, the U.S. government re-launched its Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) as “HARP 2.0”. Since that date, this website has logged more than 55,000 requests from U.S. homeowners for .

Not surprisingly, requests for HARP 2.0 mortgage rates have concentrated by state. States in which home values dropped the most throughout last decade’s downturn are the ones which generate the highest number of HARP rate queries per capita.

As home values recover nationwide in 2013 and into 2014, this trend may reverse. For now, however, the HARP program remains a common and popular refinance among eligible U.S. homeowners.

HARP : Mortgages For Underwater Homeowners

HARP stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program. It was launched as part of the government’s Making Home Affordable initiative in 2009. Making Home Affordable also includes the HAMP program — Home Affordable Modification Program — and the program is sometimes known as .

Via HARP, homeowners who are current on their mortgage but lack home equity are able to refinance to the same low rates as homeowners who do have home equity.

HARP is the mortgage for underwater homeowners. Its qualification standards are basic :

• Your mortgage must be backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• Your mortgage must have a note date of no later than May 31, 2009
• You must be current on your mortgage for the last 6 months and you may not have been 30 days late on a mortgage payment more than once in the last 12 months

It should also be noted that HARP is a one-time program. If you’ve refinanced via HARP already, you’re ineligible to refinance via HARP a second time.

HARP Becomes HARP 2.0; Homeowners Benefit

When HARP first launched in 2009, its scope was limited. Lender restrictions were thick, and the government limited the allowable loan-to-value of a HARP refinance to 125%.

The LTV restriction rendered homeowners who were deeply underwater — living in places like Las Vegas, Nevada; Phoenix, Arizona; and Miami, Florida, for example — ineligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program, and limited program reach.

The government had touted HARP as a way to help 7 million U.S. households. Through its first two years, though, HARP helped just 900,000. The shortfall is a major reason why the government revisited, then reformulated, its HARP mortgage program in November 2011.

Dubbed “HARP 2.0”, the new Home Affordable Refinance Program removed the program’s original 125% LTV restriction and reduced other barriers to application. HARP 2.0 allows for unlimited LTV, and eligible homeowners can refinance with any mortgage lender nationwide.

Three times as many U.S. homeowners used HARP last year as during 2009-2011 combined. More than 1,000,000 more U.S. households will refinance via HARP in 2013.

California, Florida, Arizona : Top HARP States

Since the HARP refinance program opened its guidelines to unlimited LTV and relaunched itself as HARP 2.0, mortgage refinance activity has flourished. The government reports that HARP refinances now account for about one-fourth of all refinances nationwide.

The 10 states in which demand for HARP 2.0 is highest :

1. California : 18% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
2. Florida : 14% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
3. Georgia : 6% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
4. Arizona : 6% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
5. Illinois : 5% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
6. Michigan : 4% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
7. Virginia : 4% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
8. Maryland : 3% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
9. Nevada : 3% of all HARP mortgage rate requests
10. Washington : 3% of all HARP mortgage rate requests

These 10 states represent account for 65 percent of HARP 2.0 demand nationwide.

By contrast, just 0.07 percent of HARP requests came from South Dakota, North Dakota, and Vermont combined.