Lenders Speed Up Loan Processing; Existing Sales Highest Since 2007; Rates Hold Ground

The share of purchase loans originated in March climbed to 63 percent of all originations from 57 percent in February. Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report for the month noted that this was the highest share for purchase mortgages since July 2016 when they made up 65 percent of the total. The average time to close all loans decreased to 43 days in March, down from 46 days in February, the shortest time to close since February of 2015. Similarly, the time to close a refinance dropped to 43 days from 47 days and the timeline for a purchase mortgage was 43 days, down from 45 days in February. All types of loans had shorter timelines. Closing or pull-through rates were lower for all loan types except FHA refinances. The rate for all loans fell from 70.6 percent in February to 67.9 percent. The

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2017/4/21/2753