PLEASANTON, CA (December 16, 2015) — The average time to close a loan increased by 3 days to 49 total days in November, the longest time to close since February of 2013, according to the latest Origination Insight Report released by Ellie Mae, a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. The average time to close FHA, Conventional and VA loans all increased to 49, 49 and 50 days, respectively. The increase could be due to lenders adjusting to the new RESPA-TILA (Know Before You Owe) regulations.
Ellie Mae’s data also shows that the average FICO score on all closed loans fell to 721, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline. The driver of the FICO reduction appears to be average FHA refinance FICO scores falling for the second straight month to 648.
Closing rates for all loans reached their highest point, 68 percent, since Ellie Mae began tracking data in August of 2011. The closing rate on purchase loans increased to 72 percent.
“We are beginning to see the anticipated impacts of the Know Before You Owe changes that went into effect in October,” said Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. “The time to close loans has crept up to 49 days, a 3-day increase over October, while the closing rate on purchased loans increased to 72 percent. Additionally, we’ve seen the percentage of refinances increase to 46 percent of all closed loans, most likely driven by a recent dip in rates over the last three months since the 2015 high point in August.”
The Origination Insight Report mines its application data from a robust sampling of approximately 66 percent of all mortgage applications that were initiated on the Encompass all-in-one mortgage management solution. Ellie Mae believes the Origination Insight Report is a strong proxy of the underwriting standards employed by lenders across the country.
Other findings from the November report:
More information and analysis of closed and denied loans by loan purpose and investor are available in the full report at http://www.elliemae.com/about-us/news-reports/ellie-mae-reports/. To get a meaningful view of lender pull-through, Ellie Mae reviewed a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior-or the August 2015 applications-to calculate an overall closing rate of 68.4 percent in November 2015 (see full report).
Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. Ellie Mae's Encompass(r) all-in-one mortgage management solution provides one system of record that allows banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders to originate and fund mortgages and improve compliance, loan quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362 to learn more.
Erica Harvill
Ellie Mae, Inc.
(925) 227-5913
Erica.Harvill@elliemae.com
Warren Lutz
Strategic Vantage Mortgage & Public Relations
(925) 899-9773
WarrenLutz@StrategicVantage.com
