Interest-only loans accounted for 26% of all mortgages funded in the second quarter, according to exclusivesurvey figures compiled by National Mortgage News and its affiliate, the Alternative ProductsQuarterly Data Report . Mortgage bankers originated $213 billion in IO mortgages during the second quartercompared to $141 billion in the first. Meanwhile ARM production is at an all-time high. Don't get the AP-QDR? Contact
The Mortgage Bankers Association this past week released some new research on the mortgage market. Thetrade group continues to be none-too-worried about IOs and payment-option ARMs. MBA doesn't publish any rankingsof IO lenders. (Again, for that, turn to the AP-QDR.) However, MBA did come up with some interesting stats on consumersand mortgages: 35% of consumers own their homes outright which means there is no mortgage debt whatsoever on theseabodes. Also, 51% have a fixed-rate loan. During a Q&A with reporters, trade group economist Doug Duncanconfirmed what we've been hearing for half-a-year now: that competition in the mortgage market is fierce...
Meanwhile, one mortgage executive (who works for a top 10 lender) told us that he thinks the payment-optionARM market will crash -- but not for two years. He thinks the industry shakeout could be as bad as the subprimecrash of 1998/1999. He requested his name not be used...
Is the slowdown in housing finally upon us? Don't bet on it, but after rising to a record high 7.35 millionunits in June, existing home sales slipped by 2.6% to 7.16 million units in July -- a modestly weaker-than-expectedperformance. Greenwich Capital notes, "The combination of a slower selling pace and a rise in stockslifted the months supply of unsold houses on the market to 4.6 months, the highest reading since November 2003"...
SLM Corp . (a k a Sallie Mae ) said it will acquire GRP Financial Services , a specialtyfinance company that buys and resolves mortgage loans, for an undisclosed amount. Under the agreement, the companywould be purchased from GRP's management and Angelo, Gordon & Co . Sallie Mae was created in 1972 asa government-sponsored enterprise specializing in student loans but severed its ties to the federal governmentlast year...
First American Corp. has acquired Certified Closing Network , a provider of customized and outsourcedtitle clearance, equity calculation and settlement services for clients with residential relocation-related transactions.CCN will become a part of First American Residential Group Inc ., a specialty business line establishedby First American in 2002.
MORTGAGE PEOPLE: The chief financial officer of troubled mortgage lender Doral Financial Corp .has been terminated, and several senior executives have resigned. (The company is undergoing a financial restatement.)Ricardo Melendez has been terminated as chief financial officer and Lidio Soriano has been namedto replace him on an interim basis. Meanwhile, Salomon Levis is resigning as chief executive officer anda director of Doral effective Sept. 15. He will be replaced on an interim basis by John Ward .
DATA NOTICE: The brand-new " eMID " is now ready. The online, Web-friendly product featuresthree modules -- one each for lenders, servicers and commercial mortgage bankers. Key features include rankingsand profiles on the top 400 firms plus an exclusive ranking of the nation's top loan brokers. For more informationcontact
