While the origination industry has begun to see the light at the end of tunnel, its headaches haven't subsided just yet, based on the results of a survey by recruiting firm Hammerhouse.
In Hammerhouse's fifth annual survey of participants in the origination market released Thursday, 87% of respondents said they expect 2015's origination volume to equal or exceed 2014's levels, a big shift from last year when 56% of originators expected a drop in volume. A large majority of originators (73%) believed their personal volume would increase this year, again an increase from 2014.
Still, the survey illuminated that not everyone views the market optimistically. Regulatory concerns returned to prominence again as 56% of those surveyed listed them as the biggest challenge the industry will face in 2015. Another 56% of originators said their career has become less rewarding than in the past, displaying the toll of recent years' troubles, according to Hammerhouse managing director Drew Waterhouse.
"Mortgage loan originators have been operating in a very difficult environment over the past several years and it should not come as a surprise that their level of satisfaction with their choice of careers has declined," Waterhouse said in a press release accompanying the survey result.
"However, we see a clear indication that originators see a brightening future and believe they know what it will take to succeed moving forward."
Hammerhouse's 2015 survey polled more than 800 active mortgage loan originators, 52% of whom have annual production between $9 million and $24 million.
