Mortgage Bankers See Improved Profits on Originations in 1Q: Report

While demand for mortgages continues to slide up and down, profits for independent mortgage bankers are up, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

During the first-quarter mortgage lenders reported an average profit of $1,447 per loan, up approximately 48.5% from the previous quarter. In the first quarter of 2014, originators lost nine basis points on each loan produced.

"Net production profits among independent mortgage bankers nearly doubled from the fourth quarter of 2014 and secondary marketing gains improved by 31 basis points over the fourth quarter, based largely on the increase in refinancing volume in the first quarter of 2015," said MBA vice president of industry analysis Marina Walsh in a statement.

"However, total production operating expenses per loan remained a challenge, rising to $7,195 per loan in the first quarter of 2015, from $7,000 per loan in the fourth quarter of 2014."

Of the firms surveyed in the MBA's study, 88% reported pretax profits in the first quarter, up 10% from the prior quarter. Productivity levels stayed the same from the fourth quarter of 2014 at 2.4 loans per employee.