Mortgage lenders and real estate investment firms this month entered tight housing markets in the Midwest and the Northwest to better reach prospective homebuyers, despite a challenging mortgage market.
While many lenders laid off some of their staff to cut costs, others continue opening offices to capitalize on demand from homebuyers. Among them are Geneva Financial, a mortgage lender headquartered in Arizona, which opened a branch location in Chicago, and New Western, a real estate investment firm, which also launched its first office in Chicago, marking its expansion with its 43rd office location in its 19th state.
Led by Irma DeLoen, Geneva Financial’s Chicago branch will offer products including conventional and government loans, such as loans from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Veterans Affairs and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Geneva Financial, founded in 2007 by Aaron VanTrojen, has more than 130 branch locations in 46 states, according to the firm.
Chicago’s housing market started out hot in 2022. About 1,820 homes were sold in the city in January alone, a 7.2% increase from the same time a year ago, according to Compass. Nationally, there was a year-over-year decrease of 2.3% during the same time.
“The spring market is already off to a strong start, particularly for single-family homes, with a 33.5% increase year over year for properties under contract, indicating that demand in the city remains strong,” said Elizabeth Anne Stribling-Kivlan, Compass’ senior managing director.
The expansion comes amid a surge in mortgage rates and declining loan origination volume. Purchase mortgage rates last week averaged 5.1%, according to the latest Freddie Mac PMMS. The average rate on a 30-year fixed purchase mortgage rate was 2.95% in the same period a year ago. The Mortgage Bankers Association expects loan origination volume to drop to about $2.5 trillion in 2022, down significantly from last year’s…