The closing rate for mortgage originations hit a three-year high in August, according to Ellie Mae, which calculated an overall closing rate of 61.1 percent, almost four percentage points higher than July. Ellie Mae’s President Jonathan Corr noted lenders are working hard to maintain leads, as nationalmortgagenews.com reports. The monthly origination survey indicates the average FICO score of closed, first-lien loans was 727, well above the credit scores of less than 680 the FHA wants to reach, as posted by MHProNews Sept. 12, 2014. ##

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