Lenders Advised to Expect Continued Change

Home buyers and their lenders were told during the MBA's annual convention that more interest rate swings like the recent 100-basis-point jump that occurred over a short 48-hour period are now a normal part of the mortgage market."We have to get used to it," said Donald Lange, the new president of the Mortgage Bankers Association. HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo agreed, saying in his keynote convention address that "turbulence is going to be a key feature" of the mortgage market. The "two-day meltdown," as Mr. Lange called it, resulted from the global financial crisis. And the new MBA leader predicted that the erratic money markets will "settle down and go forward. Volatility is with us, but it's not a sea-change," he said. Still, he suggested that "part of responding to volatility is learning to live with it and work with it. So take two aspirin and go to bed, then get up the next morning and go again. Anticipating volatility is becoming the norm." Sec. Cuomo had similar advice for the 6,000 mortgage bankers attending the three-day conference. "Assume change will be constant," he said. The events of the last weeks are a signal of the kinds of change we can no longer be surprised by."