Mortgage Broker News

August 23, 2008

Mortgage Broker News

There aren't many mainstream lenders left with 40-year amortizations and 100% financing. The ones that remain have been pretty busy. Merix, for example, has been on a small hiring spree lately to help handle its increased volume. As we approach the October 15 deadline (when 40-year and $0-down insured mortgages disappear) the remaining lenders offering them will likely get even busier.
Many think negatively of the subprime market, but it's sure been profitable for Home Trust. The "alternative" lender's mortgage volume rose 42.5% in the last year. Profits jumped 21%. Home Trust has a deposit-taking model that's fared better than most lenders who rely on securitization. That said, Home's securitization activities have reportedly offered a lower cost of funds than its deposits lately. Separately, CEO Gerald Soloway sees a lot of "low risk growth opportunities" this year, thanks to many of its competitors leaving the Canadian market. GE Money's departure is case in point.
"We're seeing that mortgage lenders are putting a brighter face on things than they were two months ago." -- Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada, via The Canadian Press.
We hear Merix may be adding a 10-year term in the next few months to their popular HELOC product.
MortgageBrokers.com posted revenue growth of 72% last quarter. Total sales were $4.03 million. As of June, MortgageBrokers.com had 403 agents (up 47%) and 36 offices. Its stock price is currently $0.15 a share. SEC
CMP reports that over 1/3 of Ontario mortgage agents weren't compliant with FSCO's July 1 licensing deadline.
CHIP reverse mortgage originations rose 17% to a record $39 million last quarter. CHIP's average loan-to-value is 36%. The company also recently inked a distribution agreement with Multi-Prets, Quebec's biggest mortgage broker.
CAAMP has a new website for this year's Expo in Vancouver, BC. The event is Canada's biggest mortgage trade show. Attendance at this year's show should top 1,800. Stats from last year: 52% of attendees were mortgage brokers. 30% were lenders.
CAAMP is launching an e-directory in January 2009 that will allow members to update their own contact information. Hopefully that includes members' website addresses as well.
Seneca College has been given "sole" rights to provide FSCO-required education for mortgage brokers. The new course starts this December. (Note: This information applies to ON brokers only, not agents)

Posted in Mortgage Broker News, Reverse Mortgages

Comments

There aren't many mainstream lenders left with 40-year amortizations and 100% financing. The ones that remain have been pretty busy. Merix, for example, has been on a small hiring spree lately to help handle its increased volume. As we approach the October 15 deadline (when 40-year and $0-down insured mortgages disappear) the remaining lenders offering them will likely get even busier.
Many think negatively of the subprime market, but it's sure been profitable for Home Trust. The "alternative" lender's mortgage volume rose 42.5% in the last year. Profits jumped 21%. Home Trust has a deposit-taking model that's fared better than most lenders who rely on securitization. That said, Home's securitization activities have reportedly offered a lower cost of funds than its deposits lately. Separately, CEO Gerald Soloway sees a lot of "low risk growth opportunities" this year, thanks to many of its competitors leaving the Canadian market. GE Money's departure is case in point.
"We're seeing that mortgage lenders are putting a brighter face on things than they were two months ago." -- Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers' Association of Canada, via The Canadian Press.
We hear Merix may be adding a 10-year term in the next few months to their popular HELOC product.
MortgageBrokers.com posted revenue growth of 72% last quarter. Total sales were $4.03 million. As of June, MortgageBrokers.com had 403 agents (up 47%) and 36 offices. Its stock price is currently $0.15 a share. SEC
CMP reports that over 1/3 of Ontario mortgage agents weren't compliant with FSCO's July 1 licensing deadline.
CHIP reverse mortgage originations rose 17% to a record $39 million last quarter. CHIP's average loan-to-value is 36%. The company also recently inked a distribution agreement with Multi-Prets, Quebec's biggest mortgage broker.
CAAMP has a new website for this year's Expo in Vancouver, BC. The event is Canada's biggest mortgage trade show. Attendance at this year's show should top 1,800. Stats from last year: 52% of attendees were mortgage brokers. 30% were lenders.
CAAMP is launching an e-directory in January 2009 that will allow members to update their own contact information. Hopefully that includes members' website addresses as well.
Seneca College has been given "sole" rights to provide FSCO-required education for mortgage brokers. The new course starts this December. (Note: This information applies to ON brokers only, not agents)