Number of Highly Qualified Refinance Candidates Reaches 3.5-Year High Amid Easing Mortgage Rates

ICE Mortgage Technology, neutral provider of a robust end-to-end mortgage platform and part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), today released its November 2025 ICE Mortgage Monitor Report. The data shows that falling mortgage rates have significantly expanded the pool of homeowners who could reduce their monthly payments by refinancing, while also reducing the cost to finance purchase and home equity mortgage loans.

“The recent easing in mortgage rates has begun to open the refinance window for many borrowers, particularly those who originated loans in the past two years,” said Andy Walden, Head of Mortgage and Housing Market Research at ICE. “At the same time, homeowners still have near-record amounts of tappable equity, and the cost to access that equity continues to improve. Together, these trends are creating meaningful opportunities for borrowers to leverage rate-and-term refinances and second-lien home equity products.”

Key findings from the November Mortgage Monitor include:

• Highly qualified refinance candidate population hits multi-year high
  
  As the ICE U.S. Conforming 30-year Fixed Mortgage Rate Lock Index dipped to 6.17% in late October — the lowest level in a year — the number of highly qualified refinance candidates (those with a 720+ credit score, 20% equity, and potential savings of at least 75 basis points) rose to 1.7 million, the largest such population since early 2022.
  
  When broader borrower profiles are included, approximately 4.1 million mortgage holders are currently “in the money” for a refinance, meaning they could save at least 75 bps by refinancing at prevailing mortgage rates. Should rates ease to 6.125% the cohort “in the money” to refinance would expand to nearly 5 million.
  

• Prepayment speeds rise sharply among recently originated loans
  
  ICE McDash Flash daily performance data shows that prepayment speeds rose sharply in September and October as refinances spurred by the recent dip in mortgage rates began to pull through to close. Most of this activity comes from loans originated between 2023 and 2025. As of mid-October, prepayment speeds for both 2023 and 2024 vintage GNMA- and GSE-securitized loans have more than doubled compared to August levels.