CA Wholesaler Expects Loss

Citing increased competition among residential mortgage lenders, California wholesaler American Residential Investment Trust now anticipates a loss for the fourth quarter.Late Friday the publicly traded company said it expects to lose $400,000 in the fourth quarter, or $0.05 a share. Previously, it had projected a profit. Industry veteran John Robbins, who serves as chief executive officer of the San Diego-based company, noted that refinancing plunged in the quarter. "The market has recalibrated very quickly," Mr. Robbins said. "Like many other mortgage lenders, we experienced lower mortgage volume coupled with increasingly competitive pricing pressures." Another wholesaler, Don Henig of American Home Mortgage, Melville, N.Y., recently told MortgageWire that he has seen "crazy pricing" over the past month. American Residential's share price plunged 15% on Friday before recovering somewhat. In trading on Monday, the stock was down slightly to $8 a share.