VA home-loan guarantee volume rose in the first half of 2018 thanks to a second-quarter surge in purchase business. New VA loan guarantees totaled $89.9 billion at midyear, a 7.5 percent improvement from the same point last year. VA production was even stronger quarter-over-quarter, with $50.9 billion in originations, up a whopping 30.2 percent from the first quarter. Purchase loans accounted for 68.1 percent of VA guarantees in the second quarter, up 23.1 percent from the prior quarter. Purchase for the first six months of 2018 was up 19.5 percent from a year ago. VA refi business struggled in the second quarter as production fell 7.0 percent from the previous period, dropping the overall refi share to 31.9 percent. Most of the damage in VA production in the second quarter was in the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan program, where volume tumbled 42.8 percent from the previous ... [Chart]