The average time to close a mortgage loan continued to hold at around 49 days in December – unchanged compared with November but up from 42 days in December 2014, according to Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight report.
It appears the increase in the number of days to close is due, at least in part, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new TILA RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rules – also known as the “Know Before You Owe” rules – which went into effect on Oct. 3.
However, as Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae, points out, the data that is used in the report is furnished by Ellie Mae customers – all of which have had access to Ellie Mae’s TRID training programs and are using the company’s TRID-compliant loan origination system, Encompass. That means the delays could be even worse for lenders that are not using compliant systems or that have not had adequate training.
“While our customers are certainly impacted by the Know Before You Owe changes, we’ve been providing them with resources, training and tutorials to help mitigate the effects,” Corr says in a release. “And, while the time to close loans remained consistent from November, the 49-day cycle is still a week longer than the time to close at this same time last year.”
Of course, most lenders agree that it will be at least another month before the full impact of TRID is known.
Although the average time to close a refinance fell from 49 days to 47 days in December, the average number of days to close a purchase loan increased by one day to 50.
About 56% of all closed loans in December were purchase loans – up from 53% in November. Moreover, 43% of loans were refinances – down from 46%.
The average FICO score for all closed loans was 722, up from 720 in November.
About 67% of loans closed in December – down slightly from 68% in November.
Closing rates on refinances reached their highest point of the year at 63%, while closing rates on purchases dropped slightly to 71%, down from 72% in November.