This past fall marked the dreaded TRID start date. Promises by lenders that closing schedules would not be affected proved to be, not surprisingly, empty. TRID has indeed had an impact on closing dates. However, home sellers seem to be accepting of the changes and I believe education is the key. Walking through a timeline and explaining the ‘why’ to a home seller is crucial.     ~Bill

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The average time to close a loan increased by three days to 49 total days this past November, the longest time to close since February of 2013, according to the latest Origination Insight Report released by Ellie Mae®. The average time to close FHA, Conventional and VA loans all increased to 49, 49 and 50 days, respectively. The increase could be due to lenders adjusting to the new RESPA-TILA (Know Before You Owe) regulations.

Ellie Mae’s data also shows that the average FICO score on all closed loans fell to 721, marking the sixth consecutive month of decline. The driver of the FICO reduction appears to be average FHA refinance FICO scores falling for the second straight month to 648.

Closing rates for all loans reached their highest point, 68 percent, since Ellie Mae began tracking data in August of 2011. The closing rate on purchase loans increased to 72 percent.

“We are beginning to see the anticipated impacts of the Know Before You Owe changes that went into effect in October,” says Jonathan Corr, president and CEO of Ellie Mae. “The time to close loans has crept up to 49 days, a 3-day increase over October, while the closing rate on purchased loans increased to 72 percent. Additionally, we’ve seen the percentage of refinances increase to 46 percent of all closed loans, most likely driven by a recent dip in rates over the last three months since the 2015 high point in August.”

The Origination Insight Report mines its application data from a robust sampling of approximately 66 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.

Other findings from the October report:

• The average 30-year rate for all loans declined for the third consecutive month, falling to 4.226.
• Refinances as a percentage of lenders’ overall loan volume increased to 46 percent.

For more information, visit www.elliemae.com.

Reprinted with permission from RISMedia. ©2015. All rights reserved.