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Refinances on the Rise as 30-Year Note Rate Declines to New 2019 Low According to Latest Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report
[August 21, 2019]

Refinances on the Rise as 30-Year Note Rate Declines to New 2019 Low According to Latest Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report


According to the July Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae®, the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry, the 30-year note rate dropped for the seventh straight month to 4.18 percent, down from 4.40 percent in June. The dramatic drop in interest rates month-over-month has led to a significant increase in refinances. In July, refinances accounted for 38 percent of all loans, up from 31 percent the month prior. Purchase percentages dropped to 62 percent of all loans, down from 69 percent in June.

Closing rates also continued to rise to a new high with the closing rate on all loans at 77.0 percent, up from 76.8 percent in June. Closing rates on purchases increased to 79.3 percent in July, up from 78.8 percent in June, while closing rates on refinances dropped slightly to 72.9 percent in July, down from 73.4 percent the month prior.

Other statistics of note in July included:

  • The time to close all loans held steady at 42 days in July. The time to close a refinance loan increased to 40 days, up from 38 the month prior, while the time to close a purchase loan dropped from 45 days in June to 43 days in July.
  • The percentage of Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMs) decreased to 5.7 percent, down from 6.3 percent in June.
  • Average FICO scores held at 731 for the second consecutive month.

"Shrewd homeowners are locking in lower interest rates which has driven the spike in refinance activity in July," said Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. "And with the Federal Reserve cutting rates further, we expect to see continued activity as homebuyers are able to stretch their dollar and enter the market."

The Origination Insight Report mines data from a robust sampling of approximately 80 percent of all mortgage applications that were initiated on the Encompass® all-in-one mortgage management solution. Ellie Mae believes the Origination Insight Report is a strong proxy of the underwriting standards employed by lenders across the country.

In addition to the Origination Insight Report, Ellie Mae also distributes data from its monthly Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker on the first Wednesday of each month. The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker focuses on mortgage applications submitted by borrowers born between the years 1980 and 1999.





MONTHLY ORIGINATION OVERVIEW FOR JULY 2019

 

Jul. 2019*

 

Jun. 2019*

 

6 Months Ago
(Jan. 2019*)

 

1 Year Ago
(Jul. 2018*)

Closed Loans

Purpose

Refinance

38%

 

31%

 

35%

 

29%

Purchase

62%

 

69%

 

65%

 

71%

Type

FHA

17%

 

19%

 

19%

 

20%

Conventional

69%

 

66%

 

66%

 

66%

VA

10%

 

10%

 

11%

 

10%

Days to Close

All

42

 

42

 

45

 

43

Refinance

40

 

38

 

38

 

41

Purchase

43

 

45

 

49

 

44

Percentage of ARM (News - Alert) and Fixed Loan Volume

ARM %

5.7%

 

6.3%

 

8.6%

 

6.6%

30-Year Rate

Average

4.18%

 

4.40%

 

5.01%

 

4.91%

*All references to months should be read as month ended.


PROFILES OF CLOSED LOANS FOR JULY 2019

 

 

Closed First-Lien Loans
(All Types)

 

FICO Score (FICO)

 

731

 

Loan-to-Value (LTV)

 

79

 

Debt-to-Income (DTI (News - Alert))

 

24/37

More information and analysis of closed and denied loans by loan purpose and investor are available in the full report at http://www.elliemae.com/about-us/news-reports/ellie-mae-reports/.

To get a meaningful view of lender pull-through, Ellie Mae reviewed a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior-or the April 2019 applications-to calculate an overall closing rate of 77.0 percent in July 2019 (see full report).

About the Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report

The Origination Insight Report focuses on loans that closed in a specific month and compares their characteristics to similar loans. The closing rate is calculated on a 90-day cycle rather than on a monthly basis because most loan applications typically take one-and-a-half to two months from application to closing. Loans that do not close could still be active applications or applications withdrawn by consumers or denied for incompleteness or non-qualification.

The Origination Insight Report details aggregated, anonymized data pulled from Ellie Mae's Encompass origination platform.

News organizations have the right to reuse this data, provided that Ellie Mae, Inc. is credited as the source.

About Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae's technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, lower origination costs, and reduce the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality, and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call (877) 355-4362 to learn more.

© 2019 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae®, Encompass®, AllRegs®, Mavent®, Velocify®, the Ellie Mae logo and other trademarks or service marks of Ellie Mae, Inc. appearing herein are the property of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.


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