PLEASANTON, Calif. – Jan. 15, 2019 – Millennial homebuyers are taking out larger FHA-backed mortgage loans year-over-year, according to November data from the Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker™. Twenty-six percent of all closed loans to members of the generation in November were for FHA loans, with an average loan size of $186,454, up from $178,862 in November 2017 and $170,167 in November 2016. Comparatively, Conventional loans accounted for 69 percent of closed loans made to Millennial borrowers during the same period, with an average loan amount of $211,268. Additionally, two percent of loans were for VA loans and three percent were unspecified.
FHA loans were more likely to be used by borrowers to purchase a home (95 percent), with just five percent of these type of loans going toward a refinance. Among conventional loans, 88 percent were for purchases and 11 percent were for refinances.
“November data from the Millennial Tracker shows that Millennial borrowers are taking out larger FHA mortgages and spending more on a home than in the past,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy for Ellie Mae. “For example, the average home appraisal value based on closed FHA loans for November 2018 in the San Francisco region was $562,479 compared to $523,192 a year ago at this same time, and up from $438,694 in 2016. We are seeing that as inventory remains relatively slim, borrowers are not waiting to buy an affordable home and are instead increasing their loan amount to purchase what is available on the market.”
Across the country, borrowers are taking out much larger FHA loans compared to previous years. Highlighted averages for major metro areas include:
Market Avg. Loan Amount (Nov. 2018) Avg. FHA Loan Amount (Nov. 2018) Avg. Home Appraisal Value (for FHA Loans) (Nov. 2018) Avg. Loan Amount (Nov. 2017) Avg. FHA Loan Amount (Nov. 2017) Avg. Home Appraisal Value (for FHA Loans) (Nov. 2017)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward $642,877 $505,871 $562,479 $523,633 $460,853 $523,192
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim $479,362 $442,569 $479,091 $442,015 $389,031 $425,517
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass./N.H. $376,481 $353,680 $379,897 $367,733 $343,219 $370,635
Washington, D.C.- Arlington-Alexandria $351,631 $313,168 $331,633 $334,156 $283,584 $305,467
Chicago-Naperville-
Elgin $221,962 $194,630 $207,841 $205,667 $178,335 $189,715
Additional findings from the November 2018 Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker include:
Men were listed as the primary borrower for 56 percent of FHA loans, women were listed on 35 percent, and nine percent were unspecified
It took an average of 43 days to close both FHA and Conventional loans across the country, compared to the average of 42 days for all loans
In November, 89 percent of all loans closed by Millennials were for purchases, with just 10 percent for refinances
Interest rates on all loans rose to 5.1 percent, the highest percentage point since Ellie Mae started tracking this data in 2016, up from 4.96 percent in October, and up from 4.17 percent a year ago
The average FHA loan borrower FICO score was 680 and the average score for those who opted for Conventional loans was 744.
Ellie Mae® (NYSE: ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker is an interactive online tool that provides access to up-to-date demographic data about this new generation of homebuyers. It mines data from a robust sampling of approximately 80 percent of all closed mortgages dating back to 2014 that were initiated on Ellie Mae’s Encompass® all-in-one mortgage management solution. Given the size of this sample and Ellie Mae’s market share, it is a strong proxy of Millennial mortgage indicators across the country. Searches can be tailored by borrower geography, age, gender, marital status, FICO score and amortization type. For more information, visit http://elliemae.com/millennial-tracker.
ABOUT THE ELLIE MAE MILLENNIAL TRACKER
The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker focuses on Millennial mortgage applications during specific time periods. Ellie Mae defines Millennials as applicants born between the years 1980 and 1999. New data is updated on the first Monday of every month for two months prior. The Millennial Tracker is a subset of our Origination Insight Report, which details aggregated, anonymized data pulled from Ellie Mae’s Encompass origination platform. Additional information regarding the Origination Insight Report can be found at http://elliemae.com/resources/origination-insight-reports. News organizations have the right to reuse this data, provided that Ellie Mae, Inc. is credited as the source.
About Ellie Mae
Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and shorten the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362 to learn more.
PRESS CONTACT
Erica Harvill
Ellie Mae, Inc.
(925) 227-5913
Erica.harvill@elliemae.com
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Allison+Partners
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EllieMae@allisonpr.com
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