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Mortgage Broker News

  • October-15-Mortgage-Deadline 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)