A slight increase in the number of days it took to close a real estate transaction in November could be a result of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rules, loan origination technology firm Ellie Mae reports.
The firm's Origination Insight report shows that it took an average of 49 days to close a loan in November, whereas it took an average of 46 days in October.
The average number of days to close a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan increased to 49 days, the average number of days to close a conventional loan increased to 49 days, and the number of days to close a Veterans Affairs loan increased to 50 days.
Purchase loans represented about 53% of the mortgage market in November, down from 56% in October, while refinances represented about 46% of volume, up from 44%.
Ellie Mae's data also shows that the average FICO score on all closed loans fell for a sixth consecutive month to 721. Most of the decrease was driven by a decrease in the average FICO score for FHA loans, which in November dropped to an average of 648.
Closing rates for all loans reached their highest point, 68%, since Ellie Mae began tracking data in August of 2011. The closing rate on purchase loans increased to 72%.
‘We are beginning to see the anticipated impacts of the Know Before You Owe changes that went into effect in October,’ says Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae, in a release. ‘The time to close loans has crept up to 49 days, a three-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.’
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