Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association covering early 2016 says that fixed-rate loans for terms other than 30 or 15 years, primarily 20 or 10-year mortgage loans, represented 18 percent of all refinances (an increase of 57 percent from the previous year). During that same period, just 1.6 percent of purchase loans were for fixed-rate mortgages with terms other than 30 or 15 years. That low percentage is 23 percent higher than it was the previous year.
Fewer borrowers opt for 10-year mortgages for home purchases because the monthly payments are higher due to the compressed repayment period. Shorter-term loans tend to be more popular when mortgage rates are low because the low interest rate can help offset some of the higher costs associated with the shorter loan term.