Closing rates fell by more than two percentage points in August as purchase loans gained traction over refis, according to a leading mortgage software firm
Closing rates fell by more than two percentage points in August as purchase loans gained traction over refis, according to a leading mortgage software firm.
The overall closing rate in August was 53.1%, down from 55.4% in July, according to Ellie Mae’s Origination Insight Report. Meanwhile, purchase loans’ share of the market gained on refis.
“Purchase loans continued to gain share in August, climbing 4% to 57% of all loans,” said Jonathan Corr, president and chief operating officer of Ellie Mae. “This was the highest percentage of purchase loans since we began tracking this data in August 2011.”
Refinance loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) also gained last month, Orr said.
“HARP-related high LTV refinances (95% or more) continued their resurgence, moving up from 11.1% in July 2013 to 13.4% in August 2013,” he said.
