Purchase volume decreased slightly to 66% of all loans in August compared to 67% in July, while the refinance share of mortgage activity increased to 33%, up from 32% in July, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report, which analyzes data from its Encompass loan origination system.
It took an average of 39 days to close in August, up from 37 in July. The average number of days to close in August 2013 was 41.
The average FICO of a borrower approved for a first-lien mortgage held steady at 727; the average score of those denied was 695.
‘The closing rate in August was the highest since we began tracking this data three years ago: 61.1 percent for all loans and 65.1 percent for purchase loans,’ says Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae, in a release. ‘This was further indication that lenders are working every deal and making sure leads don't slip away.’
Helping some was the fact that mortgage rates remained near historic lows throughout August.
‘The average 30-year rate declined for the fourth consecutive month, to 4.386 percent for all loans, which was materially lower than where we were a year ago when the average rate was 4.618 percent for all loans,’ Corr adds.
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