"When do I get my keys?" | Real Estate Escrow Timeline

AccordingSunriver Real Estate Agent to a recent Housing Wire article, it takes approximately 45 days on average to close a real estate deal from mutual acceptance all the way through to recording. The same article states that the average has held at that same mark for 2 months in a row… I have noticed a few variables in my practice recently that have added to the length and timeliness of my own closings…

  • Appraisals are taking much longer than usual and will actually depend on specific location and loan type… IE A appraisal for a VA loan or more rural property might take longer than an appraisal on a conventional loan for a property in Bend. Update | Appraisals in Deschutes County are taking 3-4 weeks to come back on average.
  • Title companies are much busier now than they have been for the past 4-5 years and as an agent I can feel the pressure and increased fervor though interactions with title officers and companies.
  • Like title and escrow companies, lenders are much busier than they ever have been before and it has decreased their ability to (in part because of the appraisers longer report return times) meet scheduled closing dates.
  • Increased activity from “For sale by owners” who are not familiar with the escrow and title process, Oregon real estate contracts or the contingencies contained within them are also adding to close times. Read more here from inman real estate news on why FSBO is probably not the best way to go.
  • Additional Information | https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/where-we-live/wp/2016/06/20/these-common-title-problems-can-snag-your-home-closing/

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Update 9/25/2016 * The New Normal: Time to Close Settles at 46 Days. After rising, falling, and rising again in the wake of the implementation of the CFPB’s TRID rule, the time to close a mortgage loan appears to finally be settling into a new normal – about a month and a half. Ellie Mae’s report, which is pulled from a “robust” sampling of approximately 75% of all mortgage applications that were initiated on Ellie Mae’s Encompass system. Ellie Mae’s report also showed that the percentage of mortgages that were refinances climbed to the highest level since March. Ellie Mae’s report also provided more proof that of the continued historic lows in mortgage interest rates – as the average interest rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage that closed in July was 3.77% – the lowest that figure has been since May 2013.
Full Story… http://www.housingwire.com/articles/38101-the-new-normal-time-to-close-settles-at-46-days?eid=322520585&bid=1536693 read more

Real Estate Market Update | Rising Interest Rates?

Real Estate Markets Reports Strong Numbers To Close Out 2016825 NW Portland Avenue - 201809029

Fed Raises Interest Rates

The Fed recently made the move to raise short term interest rates for the first time since the economic downturn of the late 2000’s. Fortunately, an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve does not equate to higher mortgage interest rates for home buyers. Mortgage interest rates long with long term debt actually lag behind short term interest rates with many experts predicting mortgage rate increases spread out over the next few years & not just days or weeks.

As rates begin to rise over the coming years remember, we would have to go back in time to the 1950’s, to find interest rates this low. Specifically 1956, the year Elvis’ “Heartbreak Hotel” hit number one on the record charts. read more