Credit scores on closed loans fell to their lowest level since February 2014, according to the latest Origination Insight Report released by Ellie Mae, a provider software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. The average FICO score on all closed loans reached 724, while average FICO scores on closed FHA refinances and purchases held steady at 660 and 689, respectively.
Ellie Mae’s data also showed that conventional refinances rose three points to represent 48 percent of lenders’ conventional loan volume in August. Additionally, more than 66 percent of all loan applications closed for the second straight month, remaining at the highest level since Ellie Mae began tracking this data in August 2011. The closing rate on purchase loans remained above 70 percent.
“As we usher in fall, credit scores dropped to their lowest level since February 2014 and we saw a small rise in refinances as a percentage of closed loans,” Ellie Mae President and CEO Jonathan Corr said. “We also continue to see modest improvements in credit availability.”
The Origination Insight Report mines its application data from a 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 August report:
- The average 30-year rate for all loans eclipsed 4.3 for the first time since October 2014.
- The overall closing rate for all purchase loans increased slightly to 70.8 percent in August.