Cash-Out Peak Was Last Year.(Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.'s data on refinancing)

WASHINGTON -- Cash-out refinancings may have peaked last year when homeowners walked away from the closing table with $313.9 billion in their pockets to spend on cars, home improvements and vacations, according to data compiled by Freddie Mac.

Last week, the company reported that borrowers refinancing their mortgages tapped $70.5 billion in equity in the first quarter, down from $77 billion in the fourth quarter and $80.2 billion in the third quarter.

"Cash-out refinance volume is expected to decline over 2007, due to an expected 6% reduction in overall mortgage origination activity and a fall in the refinancing share of originations to around 44% for the year," Freddie deputy chief economist Amy Crews Cutts said. In 2006, the refinancing share of originations was 49%.

Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, estimates the homeowners extracted $460.1 billion in home equity last year, down only slightly from $461.4 billion in 2005.

Homeowners continued to use their homes like "piggybanks" last year to support their spending habits, Mr. Belsky told the National Association of Home Builders at its semi-annual construction forecast conference.

"This is not likely to be sustained in an environment with prices starting to fall. People will not feel comfortable borrowing against their equity," Mr. Belsky said.

In estimating the amount of home ...