Mortgage Lending: The Competitive Advantage of Shorter Close Times
The housing market was on fire last year. Home prices hit a 14 year high, and buyers engaged in bidding wars and submitted above-asking-price offers. At the same time, loans took far longer to close, making it harder for borrowers to compete in the extremely tight market. Buying a home is already a stressful process, but last year was one of the most challenging on record.
In January of 2020, it took an average of 45 days to close a purchase loan and 38 days for a refinance loan. By October of