TheMReport

34 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST ORIGINATION Millennial Mortgage Timelines Conventional loans, at least among the millennial generation, are taking longer to close. H ome purchase loans are making up an increas- ing share of loans made to millennials, according to Ellie Mae's Millennial Tracker. Purchase loans accounted for 87% of loans made to millennials in February, up from 85% in January. Refinance loans accounted for 11% of millennial loans, down from 13% month-over-month. The average loan amount was $194,189. "The percentage of purchase loans is on the rise with mil - lennials continuing to enter the homebuying market for their first or maybe even second purchase," said Joe Tyrrell, EVP of Strategy and Technology for Ellie Mae. Conventional loans made up 68% of all loans made to millenni- als, down slightly from a month earlier. FHA loans accounted for 27% of millennial loans, and 2% of millennial loans in February were originated through the Veterans Administration (VA). The average time to close a millennial loan in February was 42 days, two days less than a month earlier. However, it took longer to close a conventional loan in February than January—46 days, up from 44 days a month earlier. In fact, it took longer to close a conventional loan in February than any time since January 2017, according to Ellie Mae. "The increase in days to close we saw in February is relative to the percentage increase in purchases versus refinances, as purchases typically take longer to close," Tyrrell explained. Among conventional loans, purchase loans took an average of 44 days to close, while refinance loans took an average of 53 days. Purchase loans experienced a lon - ger timeline by two days over the month, but the time for refinance loans grew by nine days. FHA loans took an average of 42 days to close, two days less than a month earlier. VA loans took an average of 59 days to close, six days more than the previous month. FICO scores for millennial borrowers rose one point to an average of 723. The average score for conventional purchase loans was 745. The average for FHA loans was 740, and for VA loans, the average score was 740. The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker consults data from 80% of all closed mortgage loans, focusing on loans closed for borrowers born between 1980 and 1999.

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