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REFINANCE ACTIVITY UP AGAIN DURING FOURTH QUARTER DESPITE BROADER U.S. DOWNTURN IN HOME MORTGAGES

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Home Loans Shrink 3 Percent Quarterly as Interest Rates Climb and Sales Listings Remain Low;Purchase and Home-Equity Lending Dips While Refinance Deals Increase Again;Total Activity Still Down 60 Percent from 2021 Peak

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property data, and real estate analytics, today released its fourth-quarter 2024 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report, which shows that 1.64 million mortgages secured by residential property (1 to 4 units) were issued in the United States during the fourth quarter. That was down 3 percent quarterly but up 14 percent from a year earlier.

The quarterly drop-off – after increases earlier in 2024 – came as mortgage rates rose, supplies of residential properties for sale remained near five-year lows and the home-buying market hit its usual Fall slow season. Despite the annual gain in lending activity, the total number of home mortgages issued during the fourth quarter of last year remained down by nearly two-thirds from a high point hit in 2021.

The latest trend resulted from declines in purchase and home-equity lending tempered by an increase in refinance packages.

Lending to home buyers shrank 7.5 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2024, to about 732,000, while the number of home equity credit lines dipped 11.6 percent, to roughly 267,000. Mortgage rollovers, however, increased for the third consecutive quarter, growing 6.4 percent to about 642,000.

Measured monetarily, lenders issued $568 billion worth of residential mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2024. That was up 1.4 percent from the third quarter of 2024 and 26.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

The mixed pattern of ups and downs among various loan types raised the portion of all residential mortgages represented by refinance deals, while lowering the purchase and home-equity loan components. Nevertheless, purchase loans once again stood as the most common form of mortgages around the U.S. during the fourth quarter, comprising almost half.

“The in-boxes of mortgage lenders emptied out a bit during the Fall of 2024 following a couple of strong quarters that had pointed to a possible revival for the industry. Things slowed down as the market remained tight and the cost of borrowing went back, all during the usual annual home-buying lull,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM. “One small surprise emerged with refinancings increasing again despite rising interest rates. That may have happened because rates started the quarter at one of the more attractive points over the past few years, suggesting that homeowners were trying to get their mortgages reset before borrowing costs went back up.”

He added that “forces remain in places for lending to remain slow. But the fallback was modest, and the trend should turn back around to some degree over the coming months as the weather warms and home buying heats back up, especially if mortgage rates settle down.”

Total lending ticks downward, still less than half of 2021 high points
Banks and other lenders issued a total of 1,640,106 residential mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2024. That was down 3.3 percent from 1,695,915 in third quarter of 2024, although still up from 1,433,864 in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Total activity went down after two straight quarterly gains, keeping the latest count 60 percent beneath a recent high point of 4,135,893 reached in the first quarter of 2021 when average 30-year mortgages rate hovered around 3 percent.

A total of $568.5 billion was lent to homeowners and buyers in the fourth quarter of last year, up slightly from $560.7 billion in the prior quarter and from $450.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. Still, it was less than half the peak of $1.3 trillion hit in 2021.

Overall lending activity followed downward quarterly and upward annual trends in a majority of metropolitan areas around the U.S. with enough data to analyze. The total decreased from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of last year in 132, or 65.3 percent, of the 202 metropolitan statistical areas that had a population of 200,000 or more and at least 1,000 total residential mortgages issued from October through December of 2024. It remained up from the fourth quarter of 2023 in 175, or 86.6 percent, of the metro areas analyzed.

The largest quarterly decreases came in St. Louis, MO (total lending down 31 percent from the third quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2024); Augusta, GA (down 23.4 percent); Savannah, GA (down 21 percent); Baton Rouge, LA (down 20.6 percent) and Beaumont, TX (down 20.1 percent).

Aside from St. Louis, metro areas with a population of least 1 million that had the biggest decreases in total loans from the third to the fourth quarter of 2024 were Atlanta, GA (down 18.9 percent); Rochester, NY (down 16.5 percent); Virginia Beach, VA (down 15.9 percent) and Tampa, FL (down 13 percent).

Metro areas with enough data to analyze where lending increased the most quarterly were Honolulu, HI (up 58.7 percent); Hilo, HI (up 51.8 percent); Hilton Head, SC (up 39.7 percent); Charleston, SC (up 26 percent) and Buffalo, NY (up 18.9 percent)

Measured annually, the largest increases in total lending among metro areas with a population of at least 1 million were in San Jose, CA (total lending up 78.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024); Honolulu, HI (up 75 percent); Los Angeles, CA (up 43 percent); San Francisco, CA (up 40.7 percent) and San Diego, CA (up 40.1 percent).

Purchase mortgages decline amid tight market and slow buying season but remain most common loan
The decline in overall fourth-quarter lending activity was driven largely by the latest decrease in the number of mortgages issued to home buyers, which dropped to 731,517.

While lending to buyers remained up annually by 6.4 percent, the fourth-quarter total was off from 790,970 in the prior quarter. It also sat far below a 1.6 million highwater mark hit in the Spring of 2021.

The latest dollar volume of purchase loans, $289.7 billion, was 5.5 percent less than the $306.5 billion third-quarter level and 45.7 percent below a 2021 peak. Still, it was up 16.2 percent from the $249.3 billion amount loaned in late 2023.

Residential purchase-mortgage originations decreased quarterly in 79.7 percent of the 202 metro areas in the report while they were up annually in 70.3 percent of those markets.

The largest quarterly decreases were in St. Louis, MO (purchase loans down 36.2 percent from the third quarter of 2024 to the fourth quarter of 2024); Augusta, GA (down 31.1 percent); Baton Rouge, LA (down 30.4 percent); Atlanta, GA (down 27.9 percent) and Shreveport, LA (down 27.2 percent).

Aside from St. Louis and Atlanta, the biggest quarterly decreases in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 came in Virginia Beach, VA (down 21.4 percent); Minneapolis, MN (down 18.2 percent) and San Antonio, TX (down 17.4 percent).

The top annual increases in purchase lending in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million were in Honolulu, HI (up 113.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024); San Jose, CA (up 50.2 percent); Birmingham, AL (up 42.1 percent); Portland, OR (up 41.8 percent) and Las Vegas, NV (up 39.1 percent).

Refinance activity up for third consecutive quarter
Despite interest rates rising during the fourth quarter of last year, the number of residential refinance mortgages issued by lenders climbed to 641,918. That was up from 603,324 in the prior three-month period and by 28.2 percent from 500,877 in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The recent increase marked the third quarterly gain in a row, reaching the highest point since mid-2022. Refinancing activity has gradually increased over the past two years following a spike in interest rates in 2021 and 2022 that caused mortgage rollovers to slump more than 80 percent.

The $228.5 billion dollar volume of refinance packages in the fourth quarter of 2024 remained significantly below a peak of $830.9 billion in 2021. But it was up 15.7 percent from $197.6 billion in the third quarter of last year and up 46.7 percent from $155.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Refinancing activity increased quarterly in 73.8 percent and annually in 93.1 percent of the metro areas around the U.S. with enough data to analyze.

The largest quarterly increases were in Hilton Head, SC (refinance loans up 56.4 percent from the third to the fourth quarter of 2024); Wilmington, NC (up 48.9 percent); San Jose, CA (up 43.8 percent); Buffalo, NY (up 41.9 percent) and San Francisco, CA (up 35.4 percent).

Aside from San Jose, San Francisco and Buffalo, metro areas with a population of least 1 million where refinance activity increased most quarterly were Denver, CO (up 23.9 percent) and Houston, TX (up 22.5 percent).

Metro areas with a population of least 1 million and the largest year-over-year increases in the number of refinance loans were San Jose, CA (up 170.6 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023 to the fourth quarter of 2024); San Francisco, CA (up 113.8 percent); Seattle, WA (up 86.8 percent); Los Angeles, CA (up 84.6 percent) and San Diego, CA (up 80.9 percent).

Refinance packages comprised 39.1 percent of all loan originations in the fourth quarter of 2024. That was up from 35.6 percent in the prior quarter to the highest level since early in 2022, but still not close to the 65.7 percent portion in 2021.

HELOC lending also down quarterly while up annually
As with overall lending, home-equity lines of credit (HELOCs) decreased quarterly but were higher annually. The latest total of 266,171 was off from 301,622 in the third quarter of 2024 while remaining up 8.6 percent from 245,518 in the last few months of 2023.

The $50.2 billion volume of HELOC loans in the fourth quarter of 2024 was down from $56.6 billion in the prior quarter but more than the $45 billion lent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

HELOCs comprised 16.3 percent of all loans in the most recent quarter. That was down from the 17.8 percent portion in the third quarter of 2024 but still almost four times the level recorded in 2021.

HELOC mortgage originations decreased from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2024 in 86.6 percent of the metro areas analyzed. The largest quarterly decreases in metro areas with a population of at least 1 million were in Atlanta, GA (down 53.3 percent); St. Louis, MO (down 40.3 percent); Virginia Beach, VA (down 28.9 percent); Houston, TX (down 27.7 percent) and Rochester, NY (down 25.2 percent).

FHA and VA mortgages grow as portion of all loans
Lenders issued 244,984 mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) during the fourth quarter of 2024, representing 14.9 percent of all residential property loans. That was up from 13.6 percent in the third quarter of last year although still down from 15.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Residential loans backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) totaled 106,900, or 6.5 percent of all residential property loans originated in the fourth quarter of 2024. That also was up, from 5.8 percent in the previous quarter as well as from 4.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Report methodology
ATTOM analyzed recorded mortgage and deed of trust data for single-family homes, condos, town homes and multi-family properties of two to four units for this report. Each recorded mortgage or deed of trust was counted as a separate loan origination. Dollar volume was calculated by multiplying the total number of loan originations by the average loan amount for those loan originations.

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data and analytics that power a myriad of solutions that improve transparency, innovation, digitization and efficiency in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications – AI-Ready Solutions.

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
Megan.hunt@attomdata.com

Data and Report Licensing:
949.502.8313
datareports@attomdata.com

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SOURCE ATTOM

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Trive Capital Announces Sale of EarthLink

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October 20, 2026

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DALLAS, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Trive Capital (“Trive”) is pleased to announce that it has closed on the sale of EarthLink, LLC (“EarthLink” or the “Company”) to a family office consortium consisting of WaveDivision Capital (“Wave”), The Pritzker Organization (“TPO”) and Stephens Capital Partners (“SCP”), in partnership with EarthLink’s management team. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, EarthLink is one of the largest internet service providers in the United States, serving over 500,000 internet and managed services customers nationwide. Through partnerships with several of the nation’s largest fiber and 5G providers, EarthLink has built an asset-light, nationwide network that can offer fiber internet service to more than 68 million homes.

Since Trive’s investment in EarthLink in 2018 as part of a corporate carveout, the Company has transformed from a legacy DSL and email business in precipitous decline to an asset-light connectivity platform serving over 500,000 consumers and small businesses nationwide. The Company has grown and will continue to grow based on its expanded fiber and 5G internet solutions and commitment to customer service for consumers and small businesses.

Shravan Thadani, Partner at Trive, stated, “EarthLink has been a true partnership between management and Trive in every sense of the word. The team built a differentiated, asset-light platform that gives consumers and small businesses real choice in how they get connected, and did so while standing up every function of the platform outside of its former, public parent. We are proud to have been a part of such an iconic brand’s journey and will continue to support Wave, TPO and SCP as they work with management to accelerate growth in the coming years.”

“During our partnership with Trive, we have taken one of the most trusted brands in the internet space and turned it into a trusted option for consumers and small businesses nationwide,” commented Glenn Goad, Chief Executive Officer of EarthLink. “As internet access has become one of the most important utilities in a consumer’s life, EarthLink has a renewed focus on making it easier for our customers to access the best internet options at affordable prices. Trive was critically important through and after the carve-out, and we are excited to partner with Wave, TPO and SCP to continue to grow EarthLink alongside our trusted fiber and 5G partners. Our collective goal remains the same: to provide the right technology at the right price, supported by a world-class customer experience.”

About EarthLink

EarthLink is an internet service provider offering fiber and 5G internet solutions for homes and businesses nationwide. With a focus on dependable connectivity, flexible plans, and customer-focused service, EarthLink provides broadband options designed to meet the needs of modern households and businesses. EarthLink is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and serves over 500,000 customers. To learn more, visit earthlink.net.

About Trive Capital

Trive Capital is a Dallas, Texas based private equity firm with more than $8 billion of regulatory assets under management. Trive focuses on investing equity and debt in what it sees as strategically viable middle-market companies with the potential for transformational upside through operational improvement.

The Trive team is comprised of seasoned investment professionals who have been involved in over 250 middle-market transactions representing in excess of $10 billion in revenue across Trive’s targeted industry sectors and situations.

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SOURCE Trive Capital

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Rondo Energy and Rio Tinto Advance Australia’s Largest Thermal Energy Storage Project

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October 20, 2026

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GLADSTONE, Australia, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rondo Energy and Rio Tinto have started front-end engineering and design on the project for a 360 MWh storage / 30 MW discharge Rondo Heat Battery, supported by a grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

ARENA’s funding for the project will be provided in stages, with an initial $3.6 million to complete front-end engineering and design work. Following successful completion of that study, ARENA will provide up to $38 million for deployment. ARENA has also approved up to $33.3 million in conditional contingency support, which would only be made available in defined circumstances to manage specific project risks, including cost overruns and electricity costs. 

If progressed, the project would be delivered at Rio Tinto’s Yarwun alumina refinery near Gladstone, Queensland and would be one of the first large-scale demonstrations of thermal energy storage for industrial process heat globally, and a world-first for the alumina industry.

Rondo Heat Batteries use abundant, low-cost midday electricity to charge, storing energy as high-temperature heat in refractory brick, and supplying energy as 24/7 continuous process heat to industry. Typically, the heat is delivered as steam, directly into an industrial facility’s steam network. Australia regularly has 4-6 hours of surplus solar-generated renewable electricity in the middle of the day, but industrial facilities need heat 24 hours a day, not just when the sun is shining. By charging when electricity is cheap and abundant and discharging continuously, Rondo Heat Batteries turn short periods of low-cost electricity into 24/7 delivery of low-cost steam. 

For energy-intensive industries such as alumina refining, Rondo Heat Batteries create a pathway to electrification that addresses both emissions and energy costs. Because the heat battery slots into the existing steam network, the facility’s processes run exactly as before — the only thing that changes is the energy for that heat: no longer from fossil fuels, but sourced from low cost electricity instead. The Yarwun study will assess the technical and economic viability of integrating the technology into refinery operations.

“This project shows how Australia’s abundant energy can become a competitive advantage for industry,” said Dr. Kira Rundel, Rondo’s Head of Australia. “Heat batteries allow manufacturers to use low-cost electricity to produce the reliable, round-the-clock heat their operations need. Australia’s largest heat battery will show how factories can cut emissions without increasing energy costs, helping Australian industry to increase global competitiveness and supporting local manufacturing jobs.”

Rio Tinto Pacific Operations Managing Director Armando Torres said: “Reducing emissions from alumina refining is complex, particularly when it comes to generating the high-pressure steam needed for our operations.

“This study will help us determine whether thermal energy storage can provide a technically and economically viable alternative to fossil fuels for part of Yarwun’s steam requirements.

“The best way to tackle challenges of this scale is through collaboration between industry, government, and technology partners. We welcome ARENA and Rondo’s support as we assess technologies that could help reduce our Scope 1 emissions while maintaining reliable operations at Yarwun.”

About Rondo Energy

Rondo Energy delivers firm heat and power, including combined heat and power (CHP), to heavy industry and provides power solutions and long duration storage to data centers. For industrial heat applications, Rondo Heat Batteries convert 4-6 hours of low-cost electricity into continuous 24-hour, high-temperature heat, delivered as steam or hot air up to 1,000°C. The heat delivered integrates directly with existing industrial equipment and processes, eliminating on-site emissions and running on lower cost energy. Rondo heat storage can integrate with steam turbines to deliver combined heat and power (CHP) for industry, and long duration power-to-power solutions for large energy consumers such as data centers. Built on proven refractory brick as the thermal storage medium, Rondo’s platform is engineered for multi-decade operation in the most demanding industrial environments.

Rondo Heat Batteries have been delivering firm heat and power at scale since 2023, with operational facilities serving customers in fuels and cement (including steam driving turbines for electricity) in the United States and in Asia. The next unit will come online shortly – a 100 MWh Rondo Heat Battery under construction in Europe for a chemical plant. Rondo is a global company based in California, with teams across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. Providing heat and power solutions to the alumina industry is an area of focus for the company due to the strong fit of Rondo’s technology with the heat and power needs of the alumina industry.

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SOURCE Rondo Energy

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14 Organizations Earn CHIME’s Highest Digital Health Most Wired Designation for 2026

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October 20, 2026

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ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), the leading professional organization for digital health leaders, today announced 14 organizations have achieved Level 10 in the 2026 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired (DHMW) survey. Powered by Digital Health Analytics (DHA), the survey is CHIME’s global assessment of digital health excellence, with Level 10 as its highest designation.

Representing health systems across the U.S., this year’s Level 10 organizations demonstrated exceptional performance across the enterprise digital ecosystem, leveraging technologies, data, infrastructure, and strategic practices shaping modern care delivery. The prestigious designation recognizes organizations that have moved beyond technology implementation to integrate digital investment across clinical and operational environments, producing measurable value for their health systems, patients, and providers.

The 2026 DHMW survey maintains a rigorous scoring methodology designed to account for differences in organizational size, complexity, risk, and resources, creating an equitable measure of performance across diverse healthcare environments. The model evaluates organizations across 10 distinct segments, measuring both the foundational elements required for digital maturity and the advanced practices that demonstrate broader adoption, integration, and value.

“Healthcare is experiencing extraordinary technological acceleration, driven in large part by the rapid adoption of AI and increasingly sophisticated digital capabilities,” said Russ Branzell, President and CEO of CHIME. “As that pace intensifies, the Digital Health Most Wired Survey continues to provide a rigorous benchmark for evaluating whether technology is translating into meaningful progress. It gives leaders a data-driven view of performance, critical gaps, and opportunities for high-impact investment while setting an industry standard of excellence for responsible technology adoption. The Level 10 organizations recognized this year exemplify the leadership and innovation required to turn digital investment into measurable improvements in care delivery.”

The 2026 Digital Health Most Wired survey includes data from more than 45,000 facilities worldwide, offering a global view of technology adoption, investment and performance across healthcare organizations and the evolving role of digital health in care delivery, operations and the patient and provider experience.

Each participating organization received a customized benchmarking report through the Digital Health Analytics (DHA) portal, offering detailed insights into performance metrics across 10 key segments:

InfrastructureSecurityAdministrationSupply chainAnalytics and data managementInteroperabilityPopulation healthPatient engagementInnovationClinical quality and safety

Fourteen healthcare organizations achieved Level 10 distinction, the highest designation awarded through the 2026 CHIME Digital Health Most Wired survey. The recipients are Baptist Health System (Jacksonville, Florida); Bon Secours Mercy Health (Ohio); MetroHealth Medical Center (Ohio); MultiCare Health System (Washington); Northeast Georgia Health System (Georgia); NYU Langone Health (New York); Parkview Health (Indiana); Roper St. Francis Healthcare Services, Inc. (South Carolina); Stanford Health Care (California); UCHealth (Colorado); UNC Health (North Carolina); University Health (Texas); University of Utah Health (Utah); and UPMC (Pennsylvania).

Collectively, the 2026 Level 10 designees reflect a healthcare environment in which digital performance increasingly depends on the alignment of technology strategy, data, infrastructure, and organizational priorities with strong leadership and a sustained commitment to innovation. Their results demonstrate how leading health systems are converting digital investment into measurable gains across clinical and operational environments while establishing the foundations required to responsibly adopt emerging technologies at scale.

CHIME will formally recognize these distinguished Level 10 honorees on November 12, 2026, during the CHIME26 Fall Forum in Denver, CO, which runs from November 11-14.

For additional details on the 2026 Digital Health Most Wired survey and the complete list of all Level 7-10 award recipients, visit dhanalytics.org.

About CHIME 
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is the leading professional organization for digital health executives and leaders. CHIME provides a trusted, collaborative environment where members and partners connect, share best practices, advance professional development, and advocate for the effective use of information and technology to improve health and care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.

About Digital Health Analytics (DHA)
Digital Health Analytics provides healthcare organizations, technology companies, and academic researchers with the data, benchmarking, and market intelligence they need to lead digital transformation — 365 days a year. Powered by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), DHA helps provider organizations supercharge their digital health transformation capabilities. For more information about DHA, visit dhanalytics.org.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Calli Dretke
Executive Vice President & Chief Digital and Marketing Officer
CHIME
734.665.0000
cdretke@chimecentral.org

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SOURCE College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME)

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