NAMB Prez: Counteract Media's Message

National Association of Mortgage Brokers president Marc Savitt says the industry needs to take its message right to consumers about the state of the market to counteract the news media's focus. Speaking on a panel with regional leaders at the NAMB/Southeast conference in New Orleans, Mr. Savitt said the mainstream media are concentrating on "gloom and doom" and are not hearing that housing affordability is back and rates are still low. Brokers need to tell consumers right now that they have a "window of opportunity," he said. Jeff Farnham, president of the Mississippi Association of Mortgage Brokers, said brokers provide "a great service to our communities as well as to our wholesale partners." The president of the Georgia Association of Mortgage Brokers, Walter Moody, added that "every industry goes through a cleansing period" and the mortgage industry is in one now. But those that make it through will be stronger, he said. Sal Berndas, president of the Louisiana Mortgage Lenders Association, said he wished the industry could convey the same message as the Democratic Party, one of hope and change.