Fannie Mae reported its refinancing volume jumped to more than $41 billion in February, nearly three times its refinancing volume in January and the highest refinancing volume in nearly a year.

The Washington, D.C.-based mortgage giant expects refinancing volume to continue to increase this year.

“Borrowers are increasingly taking advantage of the low mortgage rates available in the market today,” said Tom Lund, executive vice president of Fannie Mae’s single-family mortgage business. “We anticipate that volumes will increase even more as millions of additional homeowners become eligible to refinance under the President’s Making Home Affordable plan.”

A separate report Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association said mortgage applications rose 21 percent last week, led by a 30 percent jump in applications to refinance existing mortgages.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) said more than 100,000 borrowers have used its Website to see if they’re eligible to refinance under the Obama administration’s refinancing plan. About 50,000 have called Fannie Mae’s national hotline since the plan was announced.

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) will report weekly average mortgage rates Thursday. Last week, it said 30 year fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average of 5.03 percent, down from 5.15 percent a week earlier.

Long-term mortgage rates fell to 4.96 percent in January, the lowest since Freddie Mac began tracking rates.

Click here to read the entire article from the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

The Suits Team newsletter is now available online in a PDF format. Check out this month’s issue containing important information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (also known as “The Stimulus Bill”), news from the Team, our upcoming Braves Tailgate event and more!

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Keller Williams Realty is now the third-largest real estate franchise in the country, as measured by number of agents.

Keller Williams had 72,794 agents at the end of 2008, according to Real Trends, a trade publication. That pulled it ahead of Re/Max International, which had been third.

The company has 679 offices in the United States, and it said it distributed $30 million to agents last year through a profit-sharing program.

Keller Williams focuses on residential real estate but last year launched a commercial division, which now has 220 brokers in the U.S. and Canada.

Click here to read the full press release.