Home-purchase mortgage lending continues to sputter along in 2011 and lender hopes of any increased mortgage production in the months ahead remain focused on declining mortgage rates and the refinance sector – and not the listless housing market. According to numbers compiled by Inside Mortgage Finance, home-purchase mortgage originations totaled an anemic $209 billion in the first half of this year – the lowest level seen in more than a decade. While weak home sales in 2011 are the major reason for the low home-purchase mortgage activity, another big factor is the prevalence of cash purchases in the current housing market. Results from...(Includes one data chart)