About 45% of mortgage originations in September were refinances – up from 43% in August, as mortgage rates continued to hover near record lows, according to Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight report.
About 54% of all loans were for purchases – down from 56% in August.
The average number of days to close, for all loan types, was about 48 days, up from 46 days.
The closing rate for all loans in September was about 71.8%, down slightly from 72.3% the previous month.
The average FICO score on all closed loans was 731, unchanged compared with August.
“Refinance activity continued into September, representing 45 percent of closed loans in the month,” says Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. “We believe that, given the volume of refinances during the month, it is not surprising that the average time to close would increase slightly from the month prior. While all loans increased from 46 days in August to 48 days in September, the average time to close a refinance increased to 50 days, which is the most we’ve seen in over a year.”
To view the full report, click here.