Lending industry leaders surveyed by Fannie Mae see the lack of housing supply as the biggest risk factor in 2024, but most expect refinancing to pick up next year if rates continue to fall.
At Inman Connect Las Vegas, July 30-Aug. 1, 2024, the noise and misinformation will be banished, all your big questions will be answered, and new business opportunities will be revealed. Join us.
Nearly two out three mortgage lenders trimmed their workforces in 2023, but most lenders expect to either maintain or grow their payrolls this year, according to a survey of more than 200 senior executives by mortgage giant Fannie Mae.
While the survey found two-thirds of mortgage industry executives think it’s likely the U.S. economy will tilt into a recession within the next two years, that’s down from 93 percent a year ago.
Lending industry leaders see the lack of housing supply as the biggest risk factor in 2024, but most (64 percent) expect a new mortgage refinance boom to kick off this year or next if rates continue to fall.
TAKE THE INMAN INTEL INDEX SURVEY FOR JULY
Doug Duncan
“After job cuts in 2023, and with lenders generally less pessimistic about the economy and the direction of the mortgage market, staff sizes appear to be normalizing” at the lowest level since 2014, Fannie Mae Chief Economist Doug Duncan wrote in summarizing the survey’s findings.
“Mortgage activity likely hit a post-pandemic floor following that era’s historically high mortgage purchase and refinance volumes,” Duncan wrote. “As a result, we believe some mortgage lenders are now preparing their workforces to meet potential growth in mortgage originations should the slow recovery of the housing market continue through the rest of this year and into 2025.”
Conducted in early May and released this month, Fannie Mae’s Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey gathered perspectives from 215 senior executives at 198 lenders, including mortgage banks, depository institutions and credit…