While traditional non-agency jumbo lending lagged the overall market, the conforming-jumbo business was cracking. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securitized $51.15 billion of single-family loans above last year’s $484,350 limit for one-unit properties.
But there’s also a dark side to the rate plunge: The servicing side of the mortgage business is looking at mark-to-market bloodbaths that could be the norm if rates don’t snap back by the end of the current quarter.
According to Anthony Hsieh, founder and CEO of top-10 lender loanDepot, the mortgage industry might want to ponder creating a “reservation” system for incoming applicants.
“Mortgage originators are looking at record earnings for the first quarter,” said Chuck Klein, managing director of Mortgage Banking Solutions, Austin, TX, a consulting firm engaged in warehouse reviews and M&A activity.
According to industry consultant Joe Garrett, the typical residential mortgage company sale of the past few years has been an asset sale with a three-year earn-out.