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Mortgage Closing Periods Have Improved

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Mortgage and Lending with The Federal Savings Bank/Lending in 50 states NMLS # 109616

In recent years, potential homebuyers looking for a mortgage or those looking to refinance felt it took too long to close the deal once approved, but times have changed. LendingTree reports that the average time to close a purchase mortgage loan transaction is now 40 days, down from 74 days in 2017, a refinance now takes 38 days, down from 55 days in 2017. There were a few caveats as to what type of mortgage and the borrower. A borrower with a high credit score tends to close faster while refi borrowers with loan-to-value ratios below 80% also sealed the deal quicker.

After a rough week for the bond markets and yields, mortgage backed securities are trying to stabilize after being pushed lower by the ongoing rate cut euphoric stock frenzy. Both the Dow (27,088) and the S&P (2,999) closed at record highs yesterday after a rate cut was set by Fed Chair Powell this past week at the end-of-month Fed meeting. The Goldilocks economy here in the US is continuing for the foreseeable future with low inflation, solid economic growth and consumer spending along with high consumer confidence. Could there be a recession at some point? Possibly. But Fed Chair Powell has stated over and over that the Fed will do all that is necessary to sustain the current economic expansion.

Comments (1)

Mark Peter Lynch
Residential Mortgage Services - Winchester, VA
Think Mortgage, Think Mark!!

Jeff, couldnt agree more!  Here in Virginia with such a tight market, we as lender need to be ready to close quickly to help our Realtors win the deal!

Jul 13, 2019 10:22 AM