In today’s housing market, with its shortage of homes for sale, will sellers look poorly at a buyer making an offer tied to obtaining a mortgage requiring a low down payment? Not so, according to a recent survey done by Redfin of more than 800 of its real estate agents. A larger down payment may help but it…
I just returned from speaking at the ABA Real Estate Lending Conference in Orlando. It was a great conference and the Hyatt Regency was a great venue. I only regret I couldn’t spend more time in Orlando. The conference offered a myriad of information, products, and services covering just about all areas of commercial and residential mortgage lending. Topics discussed…
According to recent MBA forecasts, loan originations will drop in 2017 by about 15%. This shouldn’t be a big surprise. This decline is mainly due to a drastic decrease in refinances, resulting from the gradual rise in rates, and a potential for a rate spike, if the Fed discontinues purchasing mortgage-backed securities. Although forecasts are for a stronger economy driving…
We knew it would come sooner or later. It looks like it may have started. For the 4th quarter 2016 Independent Mortgage Bankers reported a decline in production and with it a drop in profits. On average, the net gain on loans originated in the 4th quarter was about $575, a big drop from the $1773 per loan reported in…
Consumers who are discouraged to apply for a mortgage because of fear of rejection increased to 7.1% from 5.7% in October of 2016, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s February 2017 survey. That means that more consumers are not looking for homes, or applying for refinancing because they believe they won’t get the mortgage. Not surprisingly, the…
I’ve heard it said over and over that the mortgage banking business may be in jeopardy as the average age of a loan originator is somewhere north of 55. The industry just ain’t attracting any new talent these days. This was one of the main topics of discussion that I participated in at a recent town hall meeting at the…
