Mortgage lending slumps during third quarter

Read more: October sees 29% drop in new home mortgage applications

In addition, among homes purchased with financing in Q3, the median loan amount was $315,000, down 4.5% from $330,000 the previous quarter, following 10 straight increases.

Meanwhile, the typical down payment in the third quarter (9.3%) was also down from 10.2% in Q2, although this was up from 8.9% a year earlier.

Warning over HELOCs

The much-vaunted HELOCs (home-equity lines of credit) experienced a small 5% quarterly jump for the third quarter in a row, which kept the industry from seeing an across-the-board contraction, according to ATTOM.

A total of 364,921 HELOCs were originated on residential properties in Q3, which was also up 47.8% year on year, with home-equity packages comprising one out of every five mortgage deals completed.