I would like to point out that a refinance at this point could trigger a very bad consequence… that is, the refinanced balance would be a recourse loan, whereas if the home owner is presently in their original loan used to buy the house, that is protected by the purchase money exemption and is thus nonrecourse.
One would have to weigh the benefits of any savings against the reality that prices are still overinflated and to refinance could be kissing away your option to protect other assets should it later make sense or become necessary to allow foreclosure to proceed.
