NEW YORK – Sept. 28, 2016 – The time to close on a mortgage loan is leveling off at about a month and a half after fluctuating for months following last year's implementation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's TILA-RESPA Integrated disclosure rules.

But as the learning curve has passed, the average time to close on a mortgage seems to be settling at about 46 days, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report. The report shows that the time to close on a loan has remained at 46 days for the past three months. The average time to close a refinance also averaged 46 days.

Sixty-four percent of real estate professionals indicated their contracts were settled on time in August, while 30 percent said they faced delays to settlement, and 6 percent saw their contracts terminated, according to the latest Realtor^® Confidence Index, a survey sent to more than 50,000 real estate practitioners. The biggest issues affecting a contract delay were issues related to obtaining financing, the appraisal and a home inspection, according to the survey.

"The fraction of delays due to appraisals has increased in recent months, in part due to a shortage of appraisers and other issues reported by Realtors (e.g. being asked to make 'inspections')," the report states.

Source: REALTOR® Confidence Index (August 2016) and "The New Normal: Time to Close Settles at 46 Days," HousingWire (Sept. 22, 2016)

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