According to Ellie Mae's ‘Origination Insight Report’ for April 2013, lender pull-through was strong for the month, with an overall closing rate of 53.2%. That figure was down from 55.1% in March.
Ellie Mae reviewed a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior (e.g., January 2013 refi and purchase applications) to arrive at the results.
‘The spring buying season appeared to be in full bloom in April with the percentage of closed purchase loans reaching 42 percent last month, up from 38 percent in March 2013 and 32 percent in February 2013,’ says Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae.
‘The trend toward more relaxed credit also continued in April 2013, as the average FICO score decreased slightly for the fifth consecutive month to 742 in April 2013 from 743 in March 2013,’ Corr adds. ‘Pull-through closing rates dropped slightly last month to 53.2 percent from 55.1 percent in March 2013. This may be a reaction to interest rates, which had been climbing for the past five months and then reversed course and fell to 3.808 percent in April 2013 from 3.813 percent in March 2013.’
The company notes that there were signs that activity related to HARP 2.0 may be slowing down. Conventional refinances at 95%-plus LTV dropped for the first time since August 2012, falling to 11.6% in April 2013 from 13% in March 2013.
Also, days to close remained flat on a month-over-month basis, at 46 days.