The refinance share of total mortgage origination volume regained some ground in October, increasing to 39% of all mortgages, up from 38% in September, according to Ellie Mae’s monthly Origination Insight Report.
The refinance share hit a low for the year in May when it was around 32%. Since then, however, mortgage rates have fallen slightly, leading more homeowners to refinance.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan was about 4.2% in October, down from 4.21% in September, according to the report.
The average number of days to close, for all loan types, was 43, the same as in September. The average number of days to close has been hovering around 42-43 days since March.
The number of days to close a refinance held steady at 40 days, and the number of days to close a purchase loan remained steady at 44 days.
The closing rate for October averaged 70.4% – about flat when compared with 71.6% in September and about flat when compared with all of 2017 so far.
The average FICO score for all loans was stuck at 724 – where it has been since June, according to the report.