The percentage of closed purchase loans in March increased to 62 percent of total closed loans, up 6 percent from the month prior according to Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insight Report.
The report said the percentage of closed refinances in March decreased to 38 percent, down from 43 percent the month prior.
Ellie Mae said 30-year interest rates in March rise to 4.69 percent, up from 4.48 percent in February and 4.33 percent in January. Ellie Mae said March interest rates were the highest since January of 2014. Additionally, the percentage of adjustable rate mortgages increased from 5.5 percent in February to 6.3 percent in March.
“With interest rates rising to the highest levels since January 2014, we’re seeing the purchase market continue to gain momentum,” Ellie Mae President and CEO Jonathan Corr said in a release accompanying the report. “As we’ve seen in the past several months, the shift to a purchase market coupled with the adoption of digital mortgage solutions by our customers aids in driving down the time to close.”
According to the report, closing rates on purchase loans in March rose to 76.3 percent, up from 75.7 percent the month prior. Closing rates on refinances in March decreased slightly from 65.0 percent in February to 64.9 percent.
The March report also found: