Ellie Mae® (NYSE: ELLI), a leading provider of enterprise-level, on-demand automated solutions for the residential mortgage industry, today released its Origination Insight Report for September 2012. The report draws its data and insights from a robust sampling of the significant volume of loan applications--more than 20% of all originations in the United States--that flow through Ellie Mae's Encompass360® mortgage management software and Ellie Mae Network?.

MONTHLY ORIGINATION OVERVIEW FOR SEPTEMBER 2012

   

September
2012*

  

August
2012*

  

3 Months Ago
(June 2012)*

  

6 Months Ago
(March 2012)*

Closed Loans
Purpose
Refinance   65%   61%   54%   61%
Purchase   35%   39%   46%   39%
Type
FHA   19%   21%   23%   28%
Conventional   72%   70%   67%   64%
Days to Close
All   50   49   47   42
Refinance   53   51   47   42
Purchase   47   47   46   42
ARMs vs. Fixed, Length, Rate
ARM %   2.6%   2.7%   3.3%   4.2%
15 Year %   17.3%   16.8%   15.8%   20.2%
30 Year - Note Rate   3.773   3.763   3.992   4.080

*All references to months should be read as month ended.

PROFILES OF CLOSED AND DENIED LOANS FOR SEPTEMBER 2012

     

Closed First-Lien Loans
(All Types)

    

Denied Loans
(All Types)

FICO Score (FICO)     750     704
Loan-to-Value (LTV)     78     88
Debt-to-Income (DTI)     23/34     27/44

More information and analysis of closed and denied loans by loan purpose and investor are available in the full report at http://www.elliemae.com/aboutus/about_reports.asp.

To get a meaningful view of lender "pull-through," Ellie Mae reviewed a sampling of loan applications initiated 90 days prior (i.e., the June applications) to calculate a closing rate for September 2012, which was 50.5%, compared to 47.8% in August 2012 (see full report).

"In September, the share of conventional loans continued to outpace FHA loans," said Jonathan Corr, chief operating officer of Ellie Mae. "During the past six months, FHA loans have dropped from 28% to 19% while conventional loans have risen from 64% to 72%. This is mostly likely the result of HARP 2.0 initiatives as well as increases in FHA insurance premiums that took effect in April 2012.

"The percentage of conventional refinances at 95%-plus LTV peaked at 11.0% in May 2012 and have been drifting down slowly ever since. In September 2012, these loans, which are most likely HARP 2.0 loans, had leveled off at 7.43%, down from 7.74% in August 2012.

"While closing rates for all loans rose last month, it was the closing rate for refinances that jumped significantly: from 40.9% in August 2012 to 45.3% in September 2012. This is also reflected in the increased time to close, up from 51 days in August 2012 to 53 days in September 2012, for refinances," Corr added.

About Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report

In 2011, the total volume of mortgages that ran through Ellie Mae's Encompass360 mortgage management software was approximately two million loan applications, or 20% of all U.S. mortgage originations. The Origination Insight Report mines its application data from a robust sampling of approximately 33% of all mortgage applications that were initiated on the Encompass origination platform. Given the size of this sample and Ellie Mae's market share, the Company believes the Origination Insight Report is a strong proxy of the underwriting standards that are being employed by lenders across the country.

The Origination Insight Report focuses on loans that closed or were denied in a specific month and compares their characteristics to similar loans that closed or were denied three and six months earlier. The closing rate is calculated on a 90-day cycle rather than on a monthly basis because most loan applications typically take one and a half to two months from application to closing. Loans that do not close could still be active applications, or applications withdrawn by consumers or denied for incompleteness or nonqualification.

The Origination Insight Report details aggregated, anonymized data and does not disclose client-specific or proprietary information.

News organizations have the right to reuse this data, provided that Ellie Mae, Inc., is credited as the source.

About Ellie Mae

Ellie Mae, Inc. is a leading provider of on-demand automation solutions for the mortgage industry. The Company offers an end-to-end solution, delivered using a Software-as-a-Service model that serves as the core operating system for mortgage originators and spans customer relationship management, loan origination and business management. The Company also hosts the Ellie Mae Network? that allows Encompass® users to electronically conduct business transactions with the lenders and settlement service providers they work with to process and fund loans. The Company's offerings include the Encompass, Encompass360® and DataTrac® mortgage management software systems.

Ellie Mae was founded in 1997 and is based in Pleasanton, California. To learn more about Ellie Mae, visit www.EllieMae.com or call 877.355.4362.

© 2012 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae®, Encompass®, Encompass360®, DataTrac®, Ellie Mae Network? and the Ellie Mae logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.

Campbell Lewis Communications
Bill Campbell, 212-995-8057
bill@campbelllewis.com