Millennial Credit Scores Are “All Over the Map,” May Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker™ Finds

PLEASANTON, Calif.--()--The average Millennial borrower credit score on closed loans varied greatly from city-to-city in May, according to the latest Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker™. Average credit scores for borrowers in the top housing markets for this generation (based on percentage of Millennial loans closed) significantly differed across the country, with averages ranging from 662 in Madisonville, Ky. to 757 in San Francisco, Ca. The Millennial city-specific FICOs are not representative of a state’s entire population.

“You would expect to see higher average FICO scores in the largest coastal metropolitan cities where loan amounts are higher, which we do see in areas such as San Francisco (757), Los Angeles (745), Boston (701) and Miami (722); however, there are some surprisingly high numbers in more rural areas, such as Mitchell, S.D. where the average FICO for Millennials was 735 in May, higher than Boston or Miami,” said Joe Tyrrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy for Ellie Mae. “Our Borrower Insights Survey recently found that many Millennials have a strong misperception about needing a perfect credit score to qualify for a home loan,” added Tyrrell.

Overall, the average FICO score for all closed loans to Millennials in May held steady for the third month in a row at 721, the lowest average for Millennial borrowers since April 2017. Comparatively, Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insight Report showed that the average FICO score for borrowers of all ages who closed loans in May was 724, one point up from 723 in April.

 

Highlighted Averages on All Closed Loans by Millennials in Top DMAs: May 2018

Top DMA City   Average FICO Score (May 2018)   Percentage of Closed Loans to Millennials (May 2018)
Mount Pleasant, Texas   689   79 percent
Mitchell, S.D.   735   76 percent
Madisonville, Ky.   662   71 percent
Indiana, Pa.   733   70 percent
Gloversville, N.Y.   701   67 percent
   

Additional key findings from the May 2018 Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker include:

  • Purchases made up 90 percent of all closed loans to Millennials, up from 89 percent in April; refinances represented nine percent, down from 10 percent the month prior, with one percent remaining unspecified month-over-month.
  • Conventional loans remained the most popular loan product for Millennial borrowers at 68 percent of total closed loans in May. FHA loans accounted for 28 percent of closed loans. During this period, VA loans represented just two percent of all closed loans. The remaining three percent were undisclosed.
  • Millennial males were listed as the primary borrower on 62 percent of closed loans, while females were listed on 32 percent and seven percent were unspecified. For comparison, in May 2017, males were listed as the primary borrower on 65 percent of loans, females at 32 percent and three percent were unspecified.
  • The average age of Millennial borrowers held steady from the month prior at 29.9.

Ellie Mae® (NYSE: ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry.

The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker is an interactive online tool that provides access to up-to-date demographic data about this new generation of homebuyers. It mines data from a robust sampling of approximately 80 percent of all closed mortgages dating back to 2014 that were initiated on Ellie Mae’s Encompass® all-in-one mortgage management solution. Given the size of this sample and Ellie Mae’s market share, it is a strong proxy of Millennial mortgage indicators across the country. Searches can be tailored by borrower geography, age, gender, marital status, FICO score and amortization type.

For more information, visit http://elliemae.com/millennial-tracker.

ABOUT THE ELLIE MAE MILLENNIAL TRACKER

The Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker focuses on Millennial mortgage applications during specific time periods. Ellie Mae defines Millennials as applicants born between the years 1980 and 1999. New data is updated on the first Monday of every month for two months prior.

The Millennial Tracker is a subset of our Origination Insight Report, which details aggregated, anonymized data pulled from Ellie Mae’s Encompass origination platform. Additional information regarding the Origination Insight Report can be found at http://elliemae.com/resources/origination-insight-reports. News organizations have the right to reuse this data, provided that Ellie Mae, Inc. is credited as the source.

ABOUT ELLIE MAE

Ellie Mae (NYSE:ELLI) is the leading cloud-based platform provider for the mortgage finance industry. Ellie Mae’s technology solutions enable lenders to originate more loans, reduce origination costs, and reduce the time to close, all while ensuring the highest levels of compliance, quality and efficiency. Visit EllieMae.com or call (877) 355-4362 to learn more.

© 2018 Ellie Mae, Inc. Ellie Mae®, Encompass®, AllRegs®, Mavent®, Velocify®, the Ellie Mae logo and other trademarks or service marks of Ellie Mae, Inc. appearing herein are the property of Ellie Mae, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks or copyrights of their respective owners.

Contacts

Ellie Mae, Inc.
Erica Harvill, 925-227-5913
Erica.harvill@elliemae.com
or
Allison+Partners
Alexandra Gardell Kreuter, 646-428-0618
EllieMae@allisonpr.com

Contacts

Ellie Mae, Inc.
Erica Harvill, 925-227-5913
Erica.harvill@elliemae.com
or
Allison+Partners
Alexandra Gardell Kreuter, 646-428-0618
EllieMae@allisonpr.com