Agency mortgage business is proceeding normally as the partial shutdown of the federal government nears two weeks. FHA processing will likely be slowed, and there are still concerns about IRS transcripts. Federal flood in-surance remains in business.
“We’re in a very challenging and turbulent time,” says a top mortgage consultant who predicts an intense period of industry consolidation through 2019 and perhaps beyond.
The California-based lender worked out an arrangement to take over 14 branch offices from RPM Mortgage, most of them in New Hampshire, and pick up about $650 million in annual lending capacity.
Declining profit margins and reduced production levels will push more inde-pendent mortgage companies to sell servicing. But falling interest rates might squash MSR prices.
Seasonal factors slowed production of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac MBS during the fourth quarter, although the refi sector showed some resilience in cash-out transactions. [Includes three data charts.]
Brian Benjamin of Two Rivers Mortgage & Investment in Red Bank, NJ, noted that since the bond market rally in late December, “I’ve seen a pickup in calls, but refis are still dead.”
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