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TH E M R EP O RT | 37 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 Millennials Are Being Savvy About Refinancing Ellie Mae found that refis by millennial borrowers made up 14 percent of all closed loans. M illennials continued to take advantage of lower interest rates in September to refinance their mortgages, finishing the month with the highest rates of millennial refis since February. That's accord - ing to the latest Ellie Mae Millen- nial Tracker Report, which found that refis by millennial borrowers made up 14 percent of all closed loans in September. Refinances for conventional loans among millennial borrowers reached 17 percent in September. That's up from 15 percent in August. At the same time, Federal Housing Agency (FHA) refinanc - es rose from 4 percent to 5 per- cent, while Veteran Affairs (VA) refinances rose from 28 percent to 30 percent. Joe Tyrrell, Ellie Mae's EVP of Corporate Strategy, said the savvy use of refinancing among millennials is a sign of a matur - ing generation of borrowers and buyers who previously purchased a home and are looking for an op- portunity to lower their monthly interest payments. In raw numbers, that matura- tion is showing definite signs that younger borrowers are indeed savvy about their finances. According to the Millennial Tracker Report, the average age of a millennial primary borrower refinancing a home was 31.5 years old and had a FICO score of 732. Most primary borrowers who refinanced were male. The share of conventional loans increased from 64 percent to 65 percent from August to September. At the same time, FHA loans dropped from 32 percent to 31 percent. The aver - age FICO score of millennial borrowers who closed on loans in September decreased slightly to 723, from 724 in August. The top markets for millen - nial borrowers in September were spread pretty far and wide, but were all in smaller cities. According to Ellie, the top five millennial-friendly markets were Cumberland, Maryland, Gillette, Wyoming; Williston, North Dakota; Cadillac, Michigan; and Fairmont, West Virginia. Refis by non-millennial bor - rowers also finished September strong. Ellie's Origination Insight Report showed that refinances overall climbed to 38 percent of closed loans in September.